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2.10 References. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 - 33
3 CDMA Capacity
3.1 Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-5
3.10 Handoffs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 - 93
3.10.1 Soft Handoff . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 - 93
3.10.2 Inter-CBSC Soft Handoff . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 - 94
3.10.3 Hard Handoffs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 - 94
3.10.3.1 Anchor Handoff . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 - 94
3.10.3.2 IS-95 to IS-2000 Hand-up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 - 94
3.10.3.3 IS-2000 to IS-95 Hand-down . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 - 95
3.10.3.4 Packet Data Handoffs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 - 95
3.10.3.5 Inter-Carrier Hand-across . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 - 95
5.6 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 - 37
6 RF Antenna Systems
6.1 Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-3
7.3 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 - 51
9.4 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 - 40
APPENDICES:
II Glossary
II.1 Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . II - 3
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Figure 3-10: Probability of Blocking vs. Erlangs per CDMA Sector with Various Power
Control Standard Deviations with Rate Set 2 Vocoder . . . . . . . . .3 - 31
Figure 3-11: Rise versus Percent of Pole Capacity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 - 33
Figure 3-12: Standard Normal Distribution. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 - 35
Figure 3-13: Rise and Radius versus Loading Example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 - 36
Figure 3-14: Reverse Link Rise vs. Throughput . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 - 49
Figure 3-15: Reverse Link Rise vs. Erlangs for Different Data Rates . . . . . . . . 3 - 50
Figure 3-16: Reverse Link Total Erlangs & Throughput vs. Data Activity Factor 3 - 51
Figure 3-17: Forward Link Rise vs. Throughput. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 - 72
Figure 3-18: Forward Link Rise vs. Erlangs for Different Data Rates . . . . . . . . 3 - 73
Figure 3-19: Forward Link Total Erlangs & Throughput vs. Data Activity Factor 3 - 74
Figure 3-20: Forward and Reverse Link Rise vs. Throughput - 95% Probability Factor 3
- 75
Figure 3-21: Forward and Reverse Link Rise vs. Erlangs for Different Data Rates 3 - 76
Figure 3-22: Forward and Reverse Link Erlangs & Thruput vs. Data Activity Factor 3 -
77
Figure 3-23: Alternate Forward and Reverse Link Erlangs & Thruput vs. Data Activity
Factor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 - 78
Figure 3-24: Example of IS-95 Forward CDMA Channels. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 - 79
Figure 3-25: Example of IS-95 Reverse CDMA Channels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 - 81
Figure 3-26: Example of IS-2000 Forward CDMA Channels. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 - 82
Figure 3-27: QPCH to PCH Timing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 - 84
Figure 3-28: IS-2000 Walsh Code Tree. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 - 88
Figure 3-29: Walsh Code Allocation Tree. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 - 89
Figure 3-30: Walsh Code Allocation Tree. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 - 89
Figure 3-31: Example of IS-2000 Reverse CDMA Channels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 - 90
Figure 3-32: Subscriber Distribution of Chicago Metropolitan Area . . . . . . . . . 3 - 97
Figure 4-1: Percentage of Cells Based on dB Changes to the Link Budget . . . . . . 4 - 4
Figure 4-2: RF Link Budget Gains & Losses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 - 5
Figure 4-3: In-Building Propagation Scenarios . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 - 6
Figure 4-4: Preferred FWT Locations Without External Antennas. . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 - 8
Figure 4-5: Typical Components in the RF Feeder Run . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 - 11
Figure 4-6: Rise (dB) at the cell of interest versus X (% load) at the cell of interest . 4 -
18
Figure 4-7: Example of Two Different Receive Path Configurations . . . . . . . . . 4 - 27
Figure 4-8: Impact of Fade Margin on Reliability. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 - 30
Figure 4-9: Edge Reliability vs. Fade Margin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 - 32
Figure 4-10: Area Reliability vs. Fade Margin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 - 33
Figure 4-11: Area Reliability as a Function of Shadow Fade Margin. . . . . . . . . . . 4 - 35
Figure 4-12: Edge Reliability as a Function of Shadow Fade Margin . . . . . . . . . . 4 - 36
Figure 4-13: Impact of dB Trade-off to Number of Sites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 - 41
Figure 4-14: Typical Repeater Application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 - 63
Figure 4-15: Repeater Range Analysis Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 - 64
Figure 4-16: Alternate Repeater Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 - 65
Figure 7-2: Probability Distribution SNR for M-branch Selection Diversity System 7 -
7
Figure 7-3: Rayleigh Probability Density Function. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-8
Figure 7-4: Reception of Highly Correlated Signals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-9
Figure 7-5: Reception of Uncorrelated Signals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 - 10
Figure 7-6: Correlated Signal Diversity Gain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 - 10
Figure 7-7: Uncorrelated Signal Diversity Gain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 - 11
Figure 7-8: Uncorrelated Signal Diversity Gain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 - 11
Figure 7-9: Theoretical Model for Base Station Polarization Diversity . . . . . . 7 - 12
Figure 7-10: Tx, Rx and Diversity Rx Antenna Configurations . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 - 17
Figure 7-11: Coaxial Cable Design Approach. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 - 20
Figure 7-12: Fiber Optic Design Approach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 - 21
Figure 7-13: Coax Design Flow Chart. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 - 22
Figure 7-14: "Bow Tie" Antenna. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 - 26
Figure 7-15: Schematic Diagram of a Power Tap . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 - 27
Figure 7-16: Typical Tap Application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 - 28
Figure 7-17: Diagram of a Power Splitter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 - 28
Figure 7-18: Schematic of a Directional Coupler . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 - 29
Figure 7-19: Parallel Power Distribution Using a Power Splitter . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 - 30
Figure 7-20: Series Power Distribution Using Directional Couplers . . . . . . . . . 7 - 30
Figure 7-21: Radiating Cable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 - 32
Figure 7-22: Radiating Cable Implementation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 - 32
Figure 7-23: Radiating Cable Coverage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 - 33
Figure 7-24: Link Budget Block Diagrams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 - 34
Figure 7-25: Maximum Coverage Distance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 - 35
Figure 7-26: Multiple Floor Coverage. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 - 35
Figure 7-27: Logarithmic Path Loss Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 - 36
Figure 7-28: Linear Path Loss Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 - 37
Figure 7-29: Measurement System Test Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 - 38
Figure 7-30: Bi-Directional Amplifier. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 - 39
Figure 7-31: Uni-Directional Uplink Amplifier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 - 40
Figure 7-32: Downlink Amplifier Gain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 - 41
Figure 7-33: Effect of a 10 dB Noise Figure Amplifier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 - 42
Figure 7-34: Noise Figure of a Lossy Device . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 - 42
Figure 7-35: Cascaded System Noise Figure. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 - 43
Figure 7-36: Uplink Amplifier Gain Setting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 - 44
Figure 7-37: Noise Summing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 - 45
Figure 7-38: Amplifier Location . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 - 46
Figure 7-39: Amplifier Performance vs. Location . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 - 47
Figure 7-40: Fiber Optic Star Architecture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 - 48
Figure 7-41: Fiber Uplink Noise Summing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 - 50
Figure 8-1: Cellsite GPS Satellite Visibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-5
Figure 8-2: Typical RF GPS Antenna Configuration Diagram . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-6
Figure 8-3: Maximizing GPS Antenna Visibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-9
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1.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 - 3
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Core Network
Radio Sub-System
BTS
CDMA Air
Interface
Mobile
Portable Fixed
Most of the information in this planning guide can be applied to both the IS-95 and IS-2000 CDMA
air interface specifications. Where it is appropriate, IS-95 specific and/or IS-2000 specific
information will be provided.
General RF considerations for CDMA system designs are addressed as well as 800 MHz and 1900
MHz specific considerations. Some basic spectrum planning guidelines including channel
assignments and designations for both 800 MHz and 1900 MHz are located in Appendix 2.
Appendix 6 addresses some RF antenna system issues that differ between 800 MHz and 1900
MHz. Throughout this document the terms 800 MHz and cellular may be used interchangeably, as
well as 1900 MHz and PCS may also be used interchangeably.
Terms and acronyms are located in Appendix I. Appendix II is a glossary of terms which are
referred to in Chapter 5. An understanding of these terms and acronyms is recommended prior to
reading this document.
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2.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 - 3
2.10 References. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 - 33
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To design a system adequately, RF system engineers will need to work closely with the customer
and carefully follow government codes. To optimize CDMA, the signal to noise ratio must be
balanced. The goal is to minimize the noise which will maximize the capacity.
Common world-wide frequency bands for cellular, PCS, and 3G are introduced in the chapter
along with a general discussion on CDMA channel spacing, multiple carrier guidelines, and guard
band considerations. Specifics are given on CMDA channel designations (North American) for
800 MHz and how to segregate the spectrum with existing 800 MHz technologies. PCS (North
American) channel designations are listed, followed by a short discussion of dual-mode and dual-
band. The topic of spectrum clearing and background noise measurements appears last; however,
it is perhaps one of the most important and challenging aspects to the CDMA system design
engineer. References include standards and FCC web page locations.
Table 2-1: Some Common World-Wide Frequency Bands for Cellular and PCS
CDMA (IS-95A/B and IS-2000 Spreading Rate 1) is a broadband technology which utilizes 1.2288
MHz bandwidth per CDMA Channel (this is often rounded off to 1.23 MHz). In order to deploy
an initial CDMA channel, spectrum must be allocated for the CDMA channel and the guard bands
that are required on each side of the channel. In order to deploy a second CDMA channel, the
channel spacing between the CDMA channels must be determined. Prior to deploying the first
CDMA channel, long term spectrum planning should be performed in order to maximize the
capacity of a multiple carrier CDMA block of spectrum. This section provides information on
CDMA channel spacing, multiple carrier guidelines, and guard band considerations.
In this section, "channel" is defined as each 1.2288 MHz carrier and not as a conversation path. For
AMPS, each frequency (carrier) corresponds to one conversation path. Therefore, a channel could
be used to discuss conversational paths or the number of carriers. For CDMA, each carrier can
support many conversation paths and therefore the term "channel" can take on different meanings
based upon the context in which it is used.
As the number of the CDMA subscribers increases, there may be a need to add additional CDMA
carrier frequencies to the system. If the first and second carrier frequencies are to be adjacent to
one another, then the channel spacing between CDMA carriers (center to center) needs to be
determined. For 800 MHz IS-95A/B and IS-2000 based systems with a 30 kHz channel increment,
the minimum recommended channel spacing separation between CDMA channels is 1.23 MHz
(see Figure 2-2).
Guard Band 1st CDMA Channel 2nd CDMA Channel Guard Band
1.23 MHz 1.23 MHz
Note: For the example in Figure 2-2, the second CDMA channel (whether it is ubiquitous or
non-ubiquitous) must be co-located with the first CDMA channel in a 1-to-1 overlay
approach throughout the second CDMA channel deployment area (see Section 2.3.4).
For 1900 MHz IS-95A/B and IS-2000 based systems with a 50 kHz channel increment, the
minimum recommended channel spacing separation between CDMA channels is 1.25 MHz (see
Figure 2-3).
Guard Band 1st CDMA Channel 2nd CDMA Channel Guard Band
1.23 MHz 1.23 MHz
Note: For the example in Figure 2-3, the second CDMA channel (whether it is ubiquitous or
non-ubiquitous) must be co-located with the first CDMA channel in a 1-to-1 overlay
approach throughout the second CDMA channel deployment area (see Section 2.3.4).
The minimum channel spacing places the broadband carriers adjacent to one another and allows
the sidebands of each to intrude into the band of the other. The adjacent channel interference for
this minimum channel separation will slightly reduce the capacity of both CDMA carriers. A
CDMA channel with adjacent CDMA channels on both sides will have an even greater reduction
in capacity. If system noise, non-linearities, or other imperfections increase the energy in the skirts
of the carriers, then an increased capacity reduction may be experienced.
A reverse link adjacent channel interference analysis was performed in an attempt to estimate and
compare the capacity impact of a 1.26 MHz and a 1.23 MHz channel spacing. The analysis
estimates the noise rise for a single carrier configuration (i.e. no adjacent carriers), for the center
14
12 0 Adjacent Carriers
2 Adjacent Carriers @ 1.23 MHz
10 2 Adjacent Carriers @ 1.26 MHz
8
Rise -dB
0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
# of Users
One method of analyzing the impact is to compare the number of users at a fixed maximum noise
rise level. Choosing 6 dB to be the maximum noise rise level, the following results can be
extrapolated from the chart in Figure 2-4.
The capacity loss from 0 Adjacent Carriers to 2 Adjacent Carriers with 1.26 MHz spacing is
approximately 0.9 users. The capacity loss from 2 Adjacent Carriers with 1.26 MHz spacing to 2
Adjacent Carriers with 1.23 MHz spacing is approximately 0.8 users.
Another method of analyzing the impact is to compare the noise rise increase at a fixed maximum
number of users. Choosing 23 users to be the maximum number of users, the following noise rise
results can be extrapolated from the chart in Figure 2-4.
The noise rise increase from 0 Adjacent Carriers to 2 Adjacent Carriers with 1.26 MHz spacing is
approximately 0.5 dB. The noise rise increase from 2 Adjacent Carriers with 1.26 MHz spacing to
2 Adjacent Carriers with 1.23 MHz spacing is approximately 0.5 dB.
The results of this analysis show a minimal impact going from 1.26 to 1.23 MHz channel spacing.
Ultimately, the system operator must decide whether the modest capacity impact of using the
minimum channel spacing is worth the marginal gain in frequency spectrum.
With the allocations of new spectrum for 3G applications through-out the world, a new opportunity
for deploying CDMA systems has been created. There are many different considerations that may
impact the spectrum planning for a CDMA system (total spectrum available, government rules and
regulations, adjacent spectrum guard band requirements, amount of spectrum that is clear and
available for use, etc.). For certain applications, there may be some capacity benefits in reducing
the adjacent spectrum guard band requirements in order to increase the guard band between the
CDMA carriers. This approach will typically be applied towards the deployment of new spectrum
allocations (i.e. 3G deployments). An appropriate adjacent spectrum guard band analysis must be
performed to justify an adjacent spectrum guard band reduction in order to increase the guard band
between the CDMA carriers.
Since the minimum channel spacing recommendation does have some impact on capacity, the
optimal channel spacing may not always be the minimum channel spacing recommendation stated
in Section 2.3.1. The optimal channel spacing from a CDMA capacity perspective is to maximize
the channel spacing within the total contiguous bandwidth available for the CDMA channels (after
all of the spectrum planning considerations for guard band and other requirements have been taken
into account). For those applications where there is flexibility in performing spectrum planning,
the following spectrum planning example of an entire block of spectrum (including guard band
requirements) can be performed in order to determine the maximum channel spacing which
maximizes capacity. The following multiple carrier, maximum channel spacing example can be
applied from a general perspective towards both IS-95A/B and/or IS-2000 1X carrier systems.
Example Assumptions:
• 5 MHz "D" block of 1900 MHz full duplexed spectrum (5 MHz for Tx, 5 MHz for Rx)
• Channel increment is 50 kHz
• Guard band requirements for each end of the spectrum is 290 kHz per side
(Note: The 290 kHz guard band value was arbitrarily chosen for this example. It does not
represent an actual guard band recommendation. See Section 2.3.5 for more information
regarding a guard band analysis and considerations.)
• Government rules and regulations allow the following spectrum planning assignments
Example: 5 MHz / 0.05 MHz = 100 "D" block channel numbers (see Figure 2-5).
300-399
2. Allocate and assign the guard band channels to each end of the spectrum. Calculate the
minimum number of channel numbers to satisfy the guard band requirements by
dividing the guard band by the channel increment and rounding up to the nearest integer.
Example: 290 kHz / 50 kHz = 5.8 = 6 channel numbers per side. See Figure 2-6.
6 channels x 50 kHz = 300 kHz per side
300 kHz x 2 = 600 kHz = 0.6 MHz total guard band
3. Use the following equation to calculate the total number of 1.23 MHz CDMA channels
(Nc) for the allocated bandwidth.
Nc = ( BW – GB ) ⁄ FS [EQ 2-1]
Where:
X represents the integer value of X (or floor value of X)
BW is the total bandwidth allocated for CDMA channels
GB is the total guard band requirements
FS is the minimum frequency spacing (1.23 for 800 MHz, 1.25 for 1900 MHz)
• For 30 kHz channel spacing systems (800 MHz systems) use 41 channel numbers
1.23 MHz / 0.03 MHz = 41 channel numbers
• For 50 kHz channel spacing systems (1900 MHz systems) use 25 channel numbers
1.25 MHz / 0.05 MHz = 25 channel numbers
Example: 25 channel numbers for each carrier
5. Assign the minimum number of channels for the 1st and last CDMA carriers next to
each of the adjacent spectrum guard bands.
Example: Assign 25 channel numbers for the F1 and F3 CDMA carriers next to each
adjacent spectrum guard band. See Figure 2-7.
6. Equally distribute the remaining CDMA carriers while maximizing the spacing between
each carrier.
Example: Assign 25 channel numbers for the single remaining CDMA carrier (F2) as
close to the center of the remaining spectrum as possible. See Figure 2-8.
Note: For the "D" block example shown above, channels 318 and 381 are conditionally valid
channel numbers according to the IS-95/IS-2000 standards (see Table 2-8). As stated
previously, an appropriate guard band analysis must have been performed to justify a
guard band reduction in order to utilize these conditional channel numbers.
Prior to finalizing a spectrum planning design for an individual market, there are various inter-system
operation aspects between multiple markets which may need to be considered. Inter-system
references in this section can be applied towards different systems (or markets) under the control of a
single operator (or corporation) or under the control of different operators (or corporations). In either
case, a multiple market spectrum planning perspective may need to be considered. There are two
major categories of inter-system operation services that will be considered; inter-system handoffs and
inter-system automatic roaming.
An inter-system handoff refers to the general provisions by which a call in progress on a traffic
channel under the control of one system may be automatically transferred to another traffic channel
under the control of a different system without interruption to the ongoing communication. Inter-
system handoffs can be inter-vendor (i.e. via IS-41 or GSM MAP) or intra-vendor handoffs. The inter-
system intra-vendor handoffs can take the form of soft or hard handoffs. If adjacent markets will need
to perform inter-system handoffs to each other, the channel numbers selected between the adjacent
markets may need to be coordinated. For example, if inter-system soft handoffs are to be
implemented, then the channel numbers between the inter-system handoff boundaries must be the
same.
Inter-system automatic roaming refers to the general provisions for automatically providing cellular
services to the subscribers which are operating outside their home service area, but within the
aggregate service area of all participating systems. Inter-system roaming can be inter-vendor (i.e. via
IS-41 or GSM MAP) or intra-vendor automatic roaming. If different systems will need to perform
inter-system automatic roaming to each other, the channel numbers selected between the different
systems may need to be coordinated. For example, the channel numbers on a preferred roaming list
must be coordinated to accommodate all of the roaming markets.
As a result, a spectrum planning design for an individual market may need to be considered from a
multiple market spectrum planning perspective depending upon the inter-system services that will be
supported.
As the capacity demand of a system increases, the deployment of additional CDMA carriers will
eventually be necessary. The capacity demand may or may not require a ubiquitous deployment of a
new carrier throughout the underlying carrier region. When a new carrier is deployed (either
ubiquitous or non-ubiquitous), the new carrier should be deployed with a 1-to-1 co-location overlay
with the underlying carriers (refer to Figure 2-9 for overlay examples) and should also be deployed
with the same coverage area as the underlying carrier.
For the examples in Figure 2-9, an F2 carrier must be co-located with every F1 site within the new
carrier region. It is important to note that F1 micro-cells located in the new carrier region should
also be co-located with F2 micro-cells.
Examples of non 1-to-1 overlays are provided in Figure 2-10. These examples are similar to those
provided in Figure 2-9, but are NOT recommended.
There are two main reasons for requiring a 1-to-1 co-location overlay of a new carrier with the
same coverage area.
Cell 1 F1
Cell 1 - F1 & F2 Coverage
A
Cell 1
F1&F2 Cell 2 - F2 Coverage
B
Cell 2 Cell 1 - F1 Coverage
F2
F1 is primary carrier
There are two different types of service acquisition issues which can be created as a result of
uneven carrier coverage as shown in Figure 2-11.
• At point A, the primary carrier (F1) of Cell 1 is transmitting the channel list message
containing channel numbers for both F1 and F2. With 2 channels input into the hashing
algorithm, half of the subscribers at point A should hash to F2. Since the coverage of F2
is too weak to acquire service, those same subscribers will fall back to the primary
carrier and attempt to reread the channel list message. These same subscribers will again
try to hash to F2 and again fail to acquire service. This cycle will repeat itself until those
subscribers move to a location where both F1 and F2 coverage from Cell 1 is acceptable.
• At point B, the primary carrier (F1) of Cell 1 is transmitting the channel list message
containing channel numbers for both F1 and F2. With 2 channels input into the hashing
algorithm, half of the subscribers at point B should hash to F2. Since the coverage of F2
is provided by Cell 2 which uses a different PN offset, those subscribers will not be able
to decode the synchronization and paging channels and the service acquisition attempt
will fail. As a result, those same subscribers will fall back to the primary carrier and
attempt to reread the channel list message. These same subscribers will again try to hash
to F2 and again fail to acquire service. This cycle will repeat itself until those
subscribers move to a location where both F1 and F2 coverage is provided by the same
cell.
As a result, a new carrier should always be deployed with a 1-to-1 co-location overlay with the
underlying carriers and should also be deployed with the same coverage area as the underlying
carriers. Also, if a new cell site is deployed into an existing multiple carrier region, then all of the
carriers in this region should be implemented at the new cell site and the coverage area for each
carrier should be made the same.
The multiple carrier overlay guidelines described in Section 2.3.4 apply to both IS-95A/B and IS-
2000 1X CDMA carriers. Figure 2-12 shows an example of a new IS-2000 1X carrier being
deployed in a system with existing IS-95A/B carriers.
F1 F2 F3 F4
IS-95A/B IS-2000
A new IS-2000 1X overlay carrier being deployed into an existing IS-95A/B system would have
to be implemented in a 1-to-1 co-location overlay with the underlying IS-95A/B carriers and
should also be deployed with the same coverage area as the underlying IS-95A/B carriers. For
some applications, a new IS-2000 1X carrier may be deployed to support 1X data applications
only. Without the burden of the co-existing voice capacity, an IS-2000 1X data only carrier can
support higher data rates with improved data capacity. From an overall data performance
perspective, a dedicated 1X data only carrier should provide the best data performance results.
With IS-2000 1X, higher data rates can be achieved with smaller radius cell sites. The link budget
improvements from a smaller radius cell site can be applied towards producing higher average data
rates. As a result, one option is to cell split an area (i.e. deploying more cells in the same area) in
order to improve the chances of achieving higher data rates. In a mixed IS-95A/B and IS-2000
system, a new cell site being deployed to improve 1X data performance must also deploy the
existing IS-95A/B carriers at the new cell site.
F1 F2 F3 F4 F5
IS-95A/B IS-2000
This is an effective approach to alleviate system loading and also increase end user 1X data
As an alternate approach to deploying a new CDMA channel frequency, the Walsh code
orthogonality between the IS-95A/B and IS-2000 air interfaces will allow a new IS-2000 1X carrier
to share the carrier frequency with an existing IS-95A/B carrier (see Figure 2-14).
F1 F2 F3
IS-95A/B IS-2000
For initial 1X deployments with low 1X subscriber penetration rates, this may be a viable option
to choose, but it is not recommended if the existing IS-95A/B carrier capacity is already near its
maximum limit. With the burden of the co-existing IS-95A/B traffic capacity, an IS-2000 1X
carrier will be limited in its data performance. High data rate 1X usage will introduce load that may
result in bursty performance degradation of the underlying IS-95A/B voice. On the other hand, the
IS-95A/B voice users may end up restricting the high data rate 1X users. To protect the IS-95A/B
voice users, it is recommended to limit the high data rate application usage on the 1X carrier for a
shared carrier overlay type of deployment. Since one of the main reasons for deploying a 1X carrier
is to provide high data rate service, limiting the high data rate usage on the 1X carrier may actually
defeat the purpose of deploying the 1X carrier in the first place. As a result, the benefit of using
this type of deployment may be somewhat limited.
General spectrum planning guidelines require the use of a guard band between adjacent spectrum
being used for different operator systems or for different air interface technologies. The guard band
is required to minimize the intra-band and inter-band interference to and from the adjacent
spectrum. The determination of a proper guard band involves a detailed analysis of the forward and
reverse links for both systems being analyzed. Guard band planning may need to take into account
the adjacent spectrum, which is geographically along the border of the system, as well as that which
is geographically co-located with the system. Cooperation between neighboring system operators
is essential to minimize interference problems. All of the possible interference scenarios from both
systems perspectives must be considered in the analysis. The more common interference scenarios
Depending upon the particular interference scenario, there are four predominant interference
mechanisms that may need to be analyzed.
Additional details regarding the above interference scenarios and interference mechanisms are
provided in Chapter 9. A detailed analysis of the guard band requirements may need to take into
account the following factors:
Interference Geometries
• geographic and/or geometric properties of the interference location
• antenna orientation (height, azimuth, downtilt)
• total path loss (propagation loss, antenna discrimination, and obstruction losses)
A potential interference problem, known as the near/far effect, is created by the geometric
relationship between a subscriber and base station. This effect is produced when a subscriber is
located far from its serving base station, but near an interfering base station. Under these
circumstances, the strength of the desired signal is low while the strength of the interfering signal
is high. A guard band analysis may need to take into account any near/far effects that may be
present.
The guard band analysis utilizes all of the relevant parameters from the subscriber/base station
geometries and characteristics to calculate the desired signal strength, receiver noise, and the
received interfering signal strength. The net value should include all of the relevant effects of
transmit powers, transmit power spectral densities, path loss, filtering, duty cycles, and summation
over multiple interferers. Depending upon the air interface technology that is being analyzed, a
degradation metric is selected (i.e. C/I, noise floor rise, receiver sensitivity, Eb/No, BER, FER,
etc.) to determine how these net values will impact the performance of the receiver, and whether
For an 800 MHz system with a 30 kHz channel spacing, it has been determined through a guard
band analysis that the minimum recommended guard band between a CDMA channel and an
AMPS channel is 0.27 MHz. The initial introduction of CDMA will require a band segment of 1.77
MHz. The band segment consists of the 1.23 MHz required for the CDMA carrier bandwidth plus
0.27 MHz of AMPS guard band on both sides of the CDMA carrier. The minimum frequency
separation required between any CDMA carrier and the nearest AMPS carrier is 900 kHz (center
to center).
The CDMA carrier width (1.23 MHz) is the result of the chip rate chosen for the Pseudorandom
Noise (PN) spreading sequence. The guard band between CDMA and analog systems is defined as
the minimum frequency separation required such that the level of interference caused by one FM
subscriber is less than a predetermined threshold. The threshold is taken to be the thermal noise
level in each receiver.
The following figure summarizes the additional and total number of AMPS channels removed to
free up spectrum for the second CDMA channel for an 800 MHz system with a 30 kHz channel
spacing.
Figure 2-16: Calculation of Minimum Spectrum Required for Two CDMA Channels
AMPS Guard 1st CDMA Channel 2nd CDMA Channel AMPS Guard
0.27 MHz 1.23 MHz 1.23 MHz 0.27 MHz
2.3.5.3 Greater Than Two CDMA Carriers with AMPS Guard Band
Additional carriers can be added as outlined in Section 2.3.4. See Figure 2-18 for a 3-carrier
example for an 800 MHz system with a 30 kHz channel spacing. CDMA carriers must be at least
1.23 MHz apart with guard bands on each end. The governing body controlling the frequency
allocations will dictate the amount of spectrum available for each operator. This spectrum will limit
the number of carriers allowed per block.
AMPS Guard 1st CDMA Channel 2nd CDMA Channel 3rd CDMA Channel AMPS Guard
0.27 MHz 1.23 MHz 1.23 MHz 1.23 MHz 0.27 MHz
Table 2-3: Channel Numbers and Frequencies for Band Class 0 and Spreading Rate 1
a. The valid channel numbers provided in this table were taken directly from the IS-95 standard.
Before using a valid channel number that is near the band edge, an analysis is required to verify
proper guard band and FCC emission compliance with the adjacent band.
b. The spectrum allocated to the A’ band is not sufficient for a CDMA carrier.
In Table 2-3, the center frequency (in MHz) corresponding to the channel number is calculated as
shown in Table 2-4, where N represents the channel number.
1023
333
334
666
667
799
991
716
717
1
A” A B A’ B’
EAMPS AMPS AMPS EAMPS EAMPS
When the CDMA carrier is deployed where another technology already exists, the system spectrum
must be split into two frequency bands. One band is for the existing technology and the other band
is for digital frequency bands. This concept is shown in the following “B” band frequency chart
(see Table 2-5). Note that the digital band includes a single primary CDMA carrier.
Any advanced technology (NAMPS, TDMA or CDMA) that must co-exist with AMPS/EAMPS
in the available spectrum requires implementation of segregated spectrum. Transition from AMPS
to CDMA consists of effectively replacing AMPS channels with CDMA channels. In such a mixed
system, co-channel interference is minimized by dividing the available cellular spectrum into two
parts as depicted in Figure 2-20. The segregated spectrum approach also requires the system to be
partitioned into three distinct geographic areas. This technique ensures the physical separation
needed to permit reuse of AMPS channels from the CDMA band.
There are two benefits to segregated spectrum planning. First, spectrum division reduces concern
over introducing interference as each CDMA carrier is implemented. Second, it will allow for
independent AMPS and CDMA planning.
Core Zone - The region in which CDMA carriers are deployed. The core will operate CDMA
channels in the CDMA band and AMPS channels in the AMPS band. The existing AMPS
frequency plan is modified to delete AMPS channels in the CDMA band.
Transition Zone - The transition zone (also known as the guard zone) is located between the core
and the perimeter. AMPS channels in the CDMA band should not be assigned in the transition
zone. This zone should not be confused with the transition cell hand-down capability.
Perimeter Zone
CORE
Core Core
Transition
Zone
CORE
Option # 3 - Homogeneous
Requires Isolated system or
adjacent CDMA systems
The grade-of-service (blocking) should be checked for all cells to make sure it is acceptable,
particularly in the transition zone. In the event that the grade of service is unacceptable and all
channels have been assigned, certain design options can be exercised to resolve this problem. The
first option that may be considered is to replace the AMPS channels with CDMA channels. The
cell would then become a core cell. A second option would be to sectorize or cell split the AMPS
cell. A third option would be to reduce the size of the CDMA core to the point that this cell would
then be considered a perimeter zone cell.
A 1850-1865 1930-1945
D 1865-1870 1945-1950
B 1870-1885 1950-1965
E 1885-1890 1965-1970
F 1890-1895 1970-1975
C 1895-1910 1975-1990
G 1910-1915 1990-1995
Band Class 1 includes blocks A-F. Band Class 14 includes blocks A-G.
The channel spacing, CDMA channel designations and transmit center frequencies are specified in
Table 2-7.
Transmission on conditionally valid channels is permissible if the adjacent block is allocated to the
licensee or if other valid authorization has been obtained. Valid CDMA Channels Numbers are
identified in Table 2-8.
Table 2-9: Preferred Set of Frequency Assignments for Band Class 1 and Spreading Rate 1
Block
Preferred Set Channel Numbers
Designator
A 25, 50, 75, 100, 125, 150, 175, 200, 225, 250, 275
D 325, 350, 375
B 425, 450, 475, 500, 525, 550, 575, 600, 625, 650, 675
E 725, 750, 775
F 825, 850, 875
C 925, 950, 975, 1000, 1025, 1050, 1075, 1100, 1125, 1150, 1175
G 1225, 1250, 1275
Dual-band subscriber units are designed to allow a subscriber to utilize two frequency spectrums,
such as PCS frequency spectrum and the cellular bands. Handoffs are supported between CDMA
providers of different bands (much like dual-mode) and also supported between CDMA, NAMPS
and AMPS. With dual-mode phones, the service provider has the option to redirect the subscriber
unit to a different air interface; however, dual-band providers redirect the subscriber unit to a
different part of the frequency spectrum. An example for dual-mode would be a subscriber unit that
is capable of operating on a CDMA 800 MHz system or could be redirected to an AMPS 800 MHz
system, assuming resources are available. An example for dual-band operation would be a
subscriber unit that is capable of operating on a CDMA PCS (1900 MHz) system and also being
able to operate on an AMPS 800 MHz system.
The goal in developing dual-mode and dual-band subscriber units is to ease transition from one
technology to a second (such as 800 MHz AMPS to 800 MHz CDMA), allow a single subscriber
unit to roam outside of the provider’s service area, and eventually to have a subscriber unit which
will work everywhere (domestic and international) thus providing "seamless" coverage.
"Seamless" coverage does not necessarily imply a single service provider.
Spectrum clearing is a topic which is especially important to CDMA systems. The CDMA
technology bases its capacity on a signal to noise balance (uplink and downlink). Adequate
spectrum must be cleared to optimize a system to its greatest capacity. Although there are many
approaches to testing the airways for clearance, it is advised that drive tests are performed (i.e. with
a spectrum analyzer) to verify that the spectrum is clear, and/or locate possible spectrum violators.
For new spectrum allocations or for spectrum that is being reallocated for telecommunication
systems (i.e. 3G spectrum allocations), spectrum measurements may be necessary to verify that the
spectrum is clear of any previous users of the spectrum (see Section 2.8 for more information).
In the cellular bands, CDMA bandwidth is created by removing the appropriate number of AMPS
Cells for the transition (or guard) zone can be identified either by predictive RF propagation or
actual noise floor measurements. The coverage area needing spectrum clearing will vary
depending upon transmission signal strength, base station height, terrain variation, foliage, and
reflection from buildings, hills or the atmosphere. The zone or area of cells to be cleared is related
to the reuse distance needed to achieve acceptable C/I levels. The area needing clearing for CDMA
may be reduced by controlling interference. Examples of how to control interference include:
utilizing directional antennas, increasing or decreasing antenna heights and downtilts, careful
adjustment of power applied to pilot and voice channels, or by using geographic elements for
isolation.
Because all transmission equipment has the capacity to block or disrupt signalling, each country
has laws governing transmission of signals. Many countries have adopted the United States Federal
Communications Commission (FCC) standards. However, do NOT assume these standards are
international. In the United States, Codes of Federal Regulations must be strictly adhered to. The
U.S. government divides these codes into what are called "Titles". Each Title covers a specific
topic. For instance, Title 7 covers Agriculture codes, Title 15 covers Commerce and Foreign Trade.
The Telecommunication Code of Federal Regulations is listed in Title 47. Title 47 is subdivided
into "Volumes" which contain "Parts" or chapters explicitly defining each code. The FCC World-
Wide Web Page contains a search engine which can locate specific regulations. For example,
regulations governing licensing and use of frequencies in the 806-824, 851-869, 896-901, and 935-
940 MHz bands are located under CFR 47, Part 90.
Specific codes for PCS exist under CFR 47, Part 24. Great detail is given to rules and restrictions
within CFR 47, Part 24. One rule for example, under paragraph 24.236 gives the field strength
limits: "The predicted or measured median field strength at any location on the border of the PCS
service area shall not exceed 47 dBuV/m unless the parties agree to a higher field strength."
Rules can be very specific. For instance, regulations are given for items such as antenna mast
heights, antenna location, what maximum radiated power is allowed at each frequency, how to
divide spectrum, who is responsible for clearing spectrum and what is the allotted time frame. It is
important to clearly understand the regulations of the government for which the system will be
deployed. Large fines can be assessed to the customer and/or Nokia Siemens Networks.
Although Federal Regulations take priority, each state and town/city may have additional codes or
zoning regulations.
For non-U.S. regulations, please contact the governing agency of that country.
Capacity and coverage in CDMA systems (IS-95 & IS-2000) are, in part, a function of the
background thermal and man-made interference noise levels. For the 1.23 MHz CDMA channel,
the background thermal noise is approximately -113 dBm. Man-made interference includes
automobile ignition noise and spurious emissions from radio and other electronic equipment.
It is anticipated that CDMA systems may be deployed in the same geographical areas where
another technology once occupied the current CDMA system’s spectrum. It is also possible for
adjacent band signals from other systems that are in the same geographical areas with the CDMA
system to cause interference with the CDMA system. As a result, noise floor measurements are
also recommended to be used to identify any in-band or out-of-band interference sources. Once an
interference source has been identified, an evaluation of the interference source can be performed
to determine the impact to the CDMA system. If the impact is determined to be significant, then
proper actions can be taken to reduce the source of interference to an appropriate level.
Interference is random in nature, with amplitude and frequency varying over time. Some of the
interference sources are thermal noise, environmental noise, and noise from other systems (i.e.
AMPS/EAMPS, CDMA, GSM, iDEN, ANSI-136, point-to-point microwave, public safety, land
mobile, private mobile, air-to-ground airphone service, etc.). Out of band sources can create
interference through intermodulation (IM).
Due to the random nature of the background noise, Nokia Siemens Networks suggests that a data
logging system be employed to measure the noise floor over some period of time. Statistical
analysis of the collected data can then be performed to determine an average and cumulative
distribution function of the noise floor rise. The cumulative distribution function indicates the
amount of time the background noise rise exceeds some specified limit.
A possible configuration of a noise floor test system is shown in Figure 2-21. The test measurement
calibration point (cal point) is at the feedline entrance of a separate antenna or an unused port of
the receiver multicoupler. The band-pass filter is used to attenuate out-of-band signals, which
otherwise could create in-band intermodulation products. The low noise amplifiers are used to
improve the system noise figure and provide enough gain to allow for the measurement of very low
level signals. The step attenuator between the amplifiers is used to limit the system gain, again, to
reduce the level of possible intermodulation products. The output of the final amplifier is then split
using a two-way splitter. The two equal outputs of the splitter are used as inputs to two spectrum
analyzers. Spectrum analyzer 1 operates in the manual mode. This spectrum analyzer is equipped
with a tracking generator which is used for the system gain calibration. This spectrum analyzer is
also used to make noise floor plots and to investigate the nature of interference as it appears on the
screen. Spectrum analyzer 2 is under computer control. Measurement traces are collected with this
spectrum analyzer and are stored to disk for later processing. Up to two spectrum analyzer traces
per second can be recorded for the described system. The noise source is used to measure the
+28 vdc
Noise
50 ohm Source
termination
Cal x ENR = 15 dB
Point
Plotter
Amplifier Amplifier
NF = 1 dB NF = 2 dB
G = 15 dB G = 25 dB
IPi = 4 dBm IPi = 0 dBm
IEEE
Spectrum 488
Analyzer 2 PC
NF = 26 dB
IP = 21 dBm
The test system gain and noise figure must be measured before data collection begins. The
measured gain and noise figure are used to make adjustments to the collected data during the data
analysis operation. The system gain is measured using the tracking generator provided in spectrum
analyzer 1. The system noise figure is determined by first measuring the noise floor with the system
Calibration Point (input) terminated in 50 ohms and then measuring the noise floor with the system
Calibration Point connected to the calibrated noise source. The noise figure is then calculated as
follows:
ENR
NF = 10 log ------------------------- [EQ 2-2]
-------------------
Pon
Poff – 1-
Where:
ENR Equivalent noise ratio of the calibrated noise source (linear ratio)
Poff Noise floor measurement with the system input terminated in 50 ohms (Watts)
If the CDMA system is deployed in an area where another technology currently exists, there are
two proposed methods of co-existence. One method is to clear all co-channels from the other
system within the CDMA band on a system wide basis. Another possibility is to only clear the co-
channels from cells which are near the CDMA cells. Co-channels to the CDMA band are then
reused at distant cells. Before noise floor testing can begin, co-channel clearing, per the chosen
implementation plan, must be completed. This is necessary because co-channels within the CDMA
band will appear as interference in the collected data.
After clearing the spectrum, preliminary tests should be run without band select filtering to identify
uncleared channels, out of band large signals, and spurious emissions, and to measure any co-
located technology antenna isolation. It is best to perform these tests during the busy hour as more
uplink and downlink channels will be in use, and recorded by the tests.
Plot the system downlink band to identify possible uncleared co-channels, external sources of
downlink interference, and to verify Tx-Rx isolation with any co-located cell sites.
Plot the uplink band to identify receive isolation with any co-located cell sites and to identify any
possible sources of uplink interference.
Examine the plot of the adjacent system frequencies for out of band or spurious emissions from the
other systems in the adjacent bands.
With a co-located cell site configuration, transmitter IM can be a source of interference with a
duplexed antenna. If this configuration exists, all of the channels from the co-located site should
be keyed up in the sector, and the spectrum should be scanned for IM and cross modulation
products. This can effectively raise the noise floor 10 to 20 dB. It can be caused by connector
breakdown in the RF path, and decreased isolation due to the duplexed configuration.
It may also be prudent to perform spot checks to identify possible interference causing conditions.
If available, make a call on the competitors system and note the subscriber power level at the
CDMA cell site. A maximum subscriber power level near the CDMA cell site may create
interference issues.
Once the system has been cleared of analog co-channels, noise floor testing can proceed. For best
results, the data should be logged at various times of the day and night at each cell site. This is
necessary because varying traffic patterns throughout the day will effect the noise levels present at
the cell site. It is recommended that at least 2000 traces be collected in each site.
The collected data must be scaled to account for the measurement system gain, noise figure, and
bandwidth before the statistical analysis is performed. Once the data is properly scaled, a statistics
software package can be used to calculate the average noise floor rise and cumulative distribution
functions. The noise floor rise cumulative distribution plots can then be used to make a judgement
on the effect of background interference to CDMA performance at each cell site. Plots can also be
produced which show the amplitude and frequency of interferers as a function of time. These plots
can be used to help identify the source of interferers, which can lead to methods of interference
reduction.
When an XMI is being used for both CDMA and LTE, the XMI bandwidth capability must be
taken into account. The Tx bandwidth is 15 MHz and the Rx bandwidth is 11.4 MHz. For a frame
to support 2 CDMA carriers, 1 LTE carrier with 2x2 MIMO, and share antennas with the third party
DO carrier, the XMIs must be configured as shown in Figure 2-22.
Tx
XMI 1 LTE Carrier
(Main ant.)
15 MHz Tx Bandwidth
Tx
XMI 2 LTE Carrier
(Div. ant.)
Rx
XMI 1 LTE Carrier
Main & Div
11.4 MHz Rx BW
Rx LTE Carrier
XMI 2
Main & Div
11.4 MHz Rx BW
815 MHz 825 MHz Chan 81 Chan 122 830 MHz
Chan 40 (1X or DO) (DO)
(1X)
XMI 1 is configured to Transmit LTE and Transmit/Receive the CDMA carrier that is not adjacent
to the LTE carrier (channel 81). Since the LTE and CDMA carriers do not fit into the 11.4 MHz
bandwidth of the Receiver, the LTE carrier must be configured for "Transmit Only" and only the
CDMA carrier will be received by this XMI.
In this manner, a 2x2 LTE carrier and 2 CDMA carriers can be supported.
For the case where 1 CDMA carrier and 2 DO carriers must be supported, the XMIs must be
configured as shown in Figure 2-23. XMI 1 must transmit and receive the CDMA carrier on
channel 40, since the RF combining network on the diversity antenna must have an unoccupied
Tx
XMI 1 LTE Carrier
(Main ant.)
15 MHz Tx Bandwidth
Tx
XMI 2 LTE Carrier
(Div. ant.)
Rx
XMI 1 LTE Carrier
Main & Div
11.4 MHz Rx BW
Rx LTE Carrier
XMI 2
Main & Div
11.4 MHz Rx BW
815 MHz 825 MHz Chan 81 Chan 122 830 MHz
Chan 40 (1X or DO) (DO)
(1X)
2.10 References
1 TIA/EIA/IS-95-A, Mobile Station - Base Station Compatibility Standard for Dual-Mode
Wideband Spread Spectrum Cellular Systems, 1995, Sections 2.1.1.1, 2.2.1.1, 3.1.1.1,
3.2.1.1, 6.1.1.1, 6.2.1.1, 7.1.1.1, Tables 2.1.1.1-1, 6.1.1.1-1, 6.1.1.1-2.
6. TIA/EIA TSB-84A, Licensed PCS to PCS Interference, Version 1.7, June 9, 1998
3 3 CDMA Capacity
Table of Contents
3 CDMA Capacity
3.1 Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-5
3.10 Handoffs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 - 93
3.10.1 Soft Handoff . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 - 93
3.10.2 Inter-CBSC Soft Handoff . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 - 94
3.10.3 Hard Handoffs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 - 94
3.10.3.1 Anchor Handoff . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 - 94
3.10.3.2 IS-95 to IS-2000 Hand-up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 - 94
3.10.3.3 IS-2000 to IS-95 Hand-down . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 - 95
3.10.3.4 Packet Data Handoffs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 - 95
3.10.3.5 Inter-Carrier Hand-across . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 - 95
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Capacity of a CDMA system depends upon the amount of interference in the system. Additional
users accessing the system will increase the system interference level. In order to maximize the
capacity, steps need to be taken to minimize the total power transmitted so as to reduce the total
interference in the system. An adjustment to this power will also make an adjustment to the
capacity. Blocking in CDMA is defined to occur when the total interference density reaches a
predetermined level above the background noise density. This is a soft blocking condition. The
blocking probability can be relaxed by allowing the maximum tolerable interference level to
increase.
In this chapter, several different capacity equations are provided which can be used to estimate the
average cell site capacity under various conditions and assumptions. The capacity of a CDMA
system is dependent upon the RF environment (i.e. path loss, delay spread, cell site layout, etc.).
There is no single capacity number but a range of values over an environment. With the
introduction of various data related services, the capacity will also depend upon the mixture of
voice and data traffic models. A capacity equation analysis is a simplistic approach as it assumes
uniform loading across all cells. However, in a live network, such a scenario would be rare. Thus,
there is no simple formula that can calculate the actual capacity that a live CDMA cell site will be
able to support. Though some equations will be provided to allow the approximation of the number
of users and data throughput that could be supported, these equations will demonstrate that the
capacity of a CDMA carrier varies with many factors. As a result, the capacity equations provided
in this chapter should be used for budgetary purposes only. A more sophisticated CDMA
simulation program, such as Nokia Siemens Networks’ Intelligent Design and Growth Planning
(IDGP) for CDMA tool, should be used for a live CDMA system to model the forward and reverse
links for thousands of subscribers in a realistic system environment with different voice and data
traffic mixes. The Intelligent Design and Growth Planning(IDGP) for CDMA tool provides
detailed simulations of both the forward and reverse links which produces a more accurate and
realistic system capacity and coverage prediction.
P
E b = --- [EQ 3-1]
R
Assuming:
• P denotes the received power from each subscriber at the base station antenna
• R denotes the data rate (9600 bps for Rate Set 1, 14400 bps for Rate Set 2)
• Power control is perfect
• Subscribers are transmitting just enough power to be received
• Uniform subscriber distribution
( N – 1 )P
I o = --------------------- [EQ 3-2]
W
Where:
W Bandwidth of the channel
Using Equation 3-1 and Equation 3-2, the energy per bit to the total interference density can be
determined.
Eb P⁄R - W⁄R
------ = --------------------- = ------------- [EQ 3-3]
Io (---------------------
N – 1 )P N–1
W
W⁄R
N – 1 = -------------- ≈ N [EQ 3-4]
Eb ⁄ Io
The above equation is an ideal case or can be referred to as a first order capacity estimate. The
capacity (N) can additionally be impacted by interference from other cell sites, the voice or data
activity associated with the users, and the effect of thermal noise. Including these other factors into
Equation 3-2 will yield:
Where:
Io Interference power density impacted by other cells, and the number of users with
an average voice or data activity rate
No Thermal noise
Using this new value of Io, Equation 3-3 can be rewritten as follows:
P
-----------
Eb P⁄R W No W
----------------------
- = ------------------------------------------------------ = ----- ⋅ --------------------------------------------------- [EQ 3-6]
( N o + Io ) ρ ( N – 1 )P ( 1 + f ) R ρ ( N – 1 ) ( 1 + f )P
----------------------------------------- + No ----------------------------------------- +1
W No W
The pole capacity is defined as the maximum capacity that can be achieved under a given set of
conditions. At pole capacity, the rise over the thermal noise will approach infinity. This can be
calculated from the power rise over thermal rise.
P Eb R ρ ( N – 1 ) ( 1 + f )P
----------- = ----------------------- ⋅ ----- ⋅ ----------------------------------------- + 1 [EQ 3-7]
No W ( N o + Io ) W No W
Eb R-
- ⋅ ----
----------------------
P ( N o + I o ) W
----------- = ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [EQ 3-8]
No W Eb R
1 – ----------------------- ⋅ ----- ⋅ ρ ( N – 1 ) ( 1 + f )
( N o + Io ) W
As the denominator in Equation 3-8 approaches zero, the power rise over thermal rise will
approach infinity. Solving the denominator to be equal to zero will result in the maximum pole
capacity.
Eb R-
- ⋅ ----
---------------------- ⋅ ρ(N – 1)(1 + f) = 1 [EQ 3-9]
( N o + Io ) W
Two additional items can be taken into account to further refine the number of users that can be
supported. They are a reduction factor due to imperfect power control and a factor to account for
sectorization. In Equation 3-10, the f factor accounts for interference coming from other cell sites.
The sectorization factor will account for the impact of interference leakage between sectors.
To approximate the reverse pole capacity point for CDMA (which can be applied to both IS-95 and
IS-2000), the following equation can be used.
W⁄R
ReversePoleCapacity = N = ----------------------------------- ⋅ ----------- ⋅ --- ⋅ G s
1 1
[EQ 3-11]
Eb 1+f ρ
----------------
-
N o + I o adjust
Where:
Io Total received signal and noise power spectral density
E
b
--------------------
N +I
Ratio of Signal energy per bit to the sum of interference and noise adjusted for
o o adjust
imperfect power control
R Data rate
Gs Sectorization gain
Eb Eb 2
( βσ ) ⁄ 2
----------------
- = ----------------- ⋅ e e [EQ 3-12]
No + Io adjust No + Io
Where:
Eb
----------------
- Signal / (Interference plus noise) ratio requirement under perfect power control
N0 + I0
Some reverse link pole equations may use the term F, where F is defined as the ratio of in cell
(intra-cell) interference power to the sum of out of cell (inter-cell) interference power and in cell
(intra-cell) interference power. F is related to f by the following equation.
InCell 1 1
F = -------------------------------------------- = ------------------------------ = ----------- [EQ 3-13]
InCell + OutCell OutCell 1+f
1 + ---------------------
InCell
Substituting F into Equation 3-11 results in the following equation (which also can be applied to
both IS-95 and IS-2000).
W⁄R
ReversePoleCapacity = N = ----------------------------------- ⋅ F ⋅ --- ⋅ G s
1
[EQ 3-14]
Eb ρ
----------------
-
N o + I o adjust
Assuming the following values for the various parameters, the reverse link pole capacity for an IS-
95 Rate Set 2 site would be 19 users or roughly 12.3 Erlangs per sector (assuming an Erlang B
model with 2% grade of service) for a three sector site (57 users per site). This value represents the
pole capacity or the point at which no more users can be added without seriously degrading the
quality of the system.
Eb
----------------
- Signal / (Interference plus noise) ratio requirement under
No + Io
perfect power control 6.5 dB
Eb ( 6.5 ⁄ 10 )
2
( 0.23 ⋅ 2.5 ) ⁄ 2
----------------
- = 10 ⋅e = 5.27 = 7.22dB [EQ 3-15]
No + Io adjust
Several variations of a reverse link capacity equation exist. The various equations may not be
exactly the same as Equation 3-11 or Equation 3-14, but many, if not all, of the items within the
equations will be represented: processing gain, Eb/(No+Io) (may also include a factor to account
for imperfect power control or power control impact may be its own term), other cell interference,
voice or data activity factor, and impact of sectorization. When discussing capacity, it is important
to mention all of the factors which are being considered and the assumed value for each factor. For
instance, 19 users shown above can easily turn into 32 users, if the calculation does not account for
any inter-cell interference (f=0). The capacity results are also highly dependent upon the values that
are used for the capacity equation. Even if the equations are similar, the values used may be
different which leads to different capacity claims from different sources. Some values are more
optimistic, thus leading to more users.
The Eb/(No+Io) performance parameter, used as an input to the equations provided above
(Equation 3-11 or Equation 3-14), is usually specified for a particular data rate (along with other
assumptions; i.e. flat fading, mobile environment with a 30 kmph worst case speed, 1% FER,
diversity, and perfect decorrelation). Although the reverse pole capacity equations can be applied
towards both IS-95 and IS-2000 systems, they are typically applied towards analyzing a system
utilizing a single data rate. As such, they may be more appropriate in estimating the capacity of an
IS-95 system, where it is common to support a single data rate (i.e. Rate Set 1 or Rate Set 2). For
IS-2000 systems which utilize multiple data rates, the reverse pole capacity equations can be used
to analyze the capacity of each individual data rate. They are not recommended to analyze a
mixture of data rates, unless an appropriate average Eb/(No+Io) performance parameter can be
produced to correlate with an associated average data rate.
Another point to be made is that these equations are for pole capacity. In designing a CDMA
system, the system designer should not assume that the system pole capacity will be achieved. The
system designer should plan that the reverse link capacity will not exceed 75% of the pole capacity.
From the above example, this would correspond to about 14 users or 8.2 Erlangs. Note that this is
• The reverse pole capacity value is greater for the lower data rate vocoder (i.e. Rate Set 1
at 9600 bps will provide greater reverse link capacity than Rate Set 2 at 14400 bps).
• The reverse pole capacity value is increased if the Eb/(No+Io) requirement is reduced.
• The reverse pole capacity value is increased if the average voice or data activity is
reduced.
• The reverse pole capacity value is increased if the inter-cell to intra-cell interference
ratio is reduced.
• The reverse pole capacity value is increased if the sectorization gain can be increased
(i.e. choosing antennas with better front to back ratios and also antennas that have a
quick rolloff from their half power point to the back of the antenna).
• The reverse pole capacity value is increased if the power control standard deviation is
reduced.
The following set of graphs demonstrates the six points just made. Only one of the parameter
values was varied for each graph with the other parameter values being left to the values given in
Equation 3-16. The intent of the graphs is to demonstrate the sensitivity a parameter value has on
the capacity of site or system.
The capacity of a CDMA carrier is dependent upon the data rate being used. Referring to
Equation 3-11, it can be seen that R (the data rate) has an inverse relationship to the reverse pole
capacity. Figure 3-1 through Figure 3-5 will show curves for both Rate Set 1 at 9.6 kbps (which is
the air interface data rate used for the 8 kbps vocoder) and Rate Set 2 at 14.4 kbps (which is the air
interface data rate used for the 13 kbps vocoder).
Figure 3-1 shows that lower values for Eb/(No+Io) result in more users being supported. BTS
infrastructure enhancements that decrease the required Eb/(No+Io) value is one area Nokia Siemens
Networks is researching to improve the capacity of the reverse link.
For a mobile environment, a 7 to 7.5 dB Eb/(No+Io) value is deemed acceptable. For a fixed system,
the Eb/(No+Io) requirement can be as low as 3 to 4 dB for some situations. Fixed units installed
indoors with a whip antenna will require Eb/(No+Io) values similar to the mobile environment,
whereas fixed units installed with outdoor directional antennas will require lower Eb/(No+Io)
values. Further advancements in chipsets and the algorithms employed in those chipset may reduce
the Eb/(No+Io) requirement and thus smaller values than these previously listed will be acceptable.
For example, the values above are reasonable for an IS-95 site, but new chipsets are being used (i.e
IS-95 EMAXX chipset and IS-2000 chipset) which improve upon the Eb/(No+Io) requirement.
From the graph above, a 3 dB advantage of a fixed system over a mobile system will yield a pole
capacity of approximately twice the number of users (considering just the impact of Eb/(No+Io)).
For some IS-2000 data services applications, a higher data rate coupled with a higher data activity
factor may be required. From the results in Figure 3-2, it can be seen that both of these factors will
reduce the capacity that can be supported by a CDMA carrier.
OutCell
f = --------------------- [EQ 3-17]
InCell
The following table shows several f values that were obtained from simulations assuming a
specific propagation model (path loss slope, standard deviation, and correlation).
The terms of the propagation model correspond to the path loss slope, the shadowing standard
deviation and the site to site correlation value. As shown by the above table, higher propagation
exponents (the path loss slope) will reduce the f factor and lower exponents will increase the value
of f.
For a system that is only comprised of a single cell (for example a fixed system in a remote area),
there will be no out of cell interference and therefore the pole capacity will be higher. Similarly,
cell sites positioned along a highway to provide only highway coverage will not see much
Sectorization gain can be somewhat of a misleading term. The sectorization gain is actually more
of a reduction factor. For an omni site, the sectorization gain is one. For a sector site, one approach
may be to multiply the resulting capacity of an omni site (or single sector) by the number of sectors
for the sector site (i.e. a three sector site would support three times the number of users than an
omni site and a six sector site would support six times the number of users than an omni site). This
is not the case though. The additional sectors are considered to be other locations generating
interference to the desired sector. The other cell interference factor accounts for just that,
interference generated by other sites. The sectorization gain is the adjustment for the other sectors
at the local site causing increased levels of interference. The reason it is referred to as a
sectorization gain is that for a given physical site location, this site location is able to support many
more users when it is sectorized than if it stayed omni.
The sectorization gain can be improved by selecting antennas which have a good front to back ratio
and which also exhibit a quick rolloff past the half power points (3 dB down from main lobe). For
instance, using a 90° antenna in place of a 120° antenna for a three sector site would decrease the
amount of energy (interference) going into adjacent sectors, thus increasing the sectorization gain
and thereby improving upon the number of users which could be supported. It is important to note
that decreasing the horizontal beamwidth too much can also have a negative impact on the
coverage (signal strength) within the cell site’s coverage area. As the sectorization gain increases,
the number of users will increase (as seen from the graph in Figure 3-4).
The sectorization gain value which is commonly used is 0.8 per sector or 2.4 for a three sector site
(0.8 time 3). This 0.8 sectorization gain can be thought of as a 1 dB impact to the capacity of the
site due to other sectors interference.
The above figure would apply only to a three sector site. The sectorization gain shown is for an
entire site. For instance, a sectorization gain of 2.4 corresponds to 0.8 per each sector (= 2.4/3). For
an omni site the sectorization gain would be 1. If the sectorization per sector for a six sector site is
considered to be similar to that of a three sector site, then the sectorization gain for the site would
be 6 times the per sector value (for instance, 6 * 0.8 = 4.8).
This graph shows that improving the accuracy of power control can provide some increase to the
number of users.
At relatively slow speeds or in static conditions (fixed), power control is effective in counteracting
slow fades, whereas at high speeds, power control is not as effective in counteracting fast fading.
At higher speeds, the effects of interleaving become increasingly beneficial.
In AMPS and TDMA systems, voice/traffic channels are assigned to users as long as they are
available. Given the required offered traffic, the Erlang B model is used to determine the number
of traffic channels required to provide a predetermined grade of service. The Erlang B model is
based upon a model of serving without queuing. In other words, all blocked calls are cleared.
Traffic load is the product of call rate and call holding time. It is a dimensionless quantity measured
in Erlangs. One Erlang is the traffic intensity of a traffic channel which is continuously occupied.
Grade of service is a term used to quantify the extent to which congestion occurs in any trunking
system and is typically expressed as the probability of finding blocking. Blocking in AMPS and
TDMA is defined to occur when all voice frequencies (for AMPS) or time slots (for TDMA) have
been assigned to other subscriber stations.
The values quoted for traffic load and grade of service for cellular systems are usually taken during
the busy hour. Busy hour is defined as the continuous one-hour period in the day during which the
highest average traffic density is experienced by the system. The Erlang B formula is given by:
C
A
------
C! -
P Blocking = -----------------
C
[EQ 3-18]
K
A
------
K!
K=0
Where:
A is the offered traffic
Unlike the traditional analog design, balanced uplink and downlink cannot be achieved in CDMA
because of the differences in waveform design on both links. Originally it was considered that the
reverse link (subscriber to base) would usually be the capacity limiting path. However with the
Rate Set 2 vocoder and other real world situations, the forward link (base to subscriber) may be the
limiting path. With new higher data rate services being introduced (via IS-95B or IS-2000), it is
Soft blocking in CDMA systems is defined to occur when the total collection of users both within
the serving cell/sector and in other neighbor cells introduce an amount of interference density so
great that it exceeds the background noise spectral density by a predefined amount. Under the
assumption that the system is not hardware limited, the following analysis applies this soft
blocking concept to calculate the Erlang capacity of a CDMA system. The concept of soft blocking
will be explained in details in the following paragraphs.
3.3.2.1 Assumptions
1. The number of active calls is a Poisson random variable with mean ( --μλ- )
2. Each user is active with probability ρ and inactive with probability (1- ρ )
3. Each user’s required energy per bit-to-interference density ratio (Eb/Io) is varied
according to propagation conditions to achieve the specified Frame Erasure Rate (FER).
The FER is usually taken as 1% (0.01) to provide satisfactory transmission.
4. All the sectors have the same number of users.
5. The users are uniformly distributed over each sector.
k othercells k
ν is the voice or data activity and is a binomial random variable with ρ = Pr ( ν =1),
which is the gate on probability.
Defining ε = Eb/Io, which is known as the Bit Energy to Interference Density Ratio, and dividing
by IoR, the inequality [Equation 3-19] can be written as follows:
k othercells k
W
νi εi + vi ( j )εi ( j ) > ( 1 – η ) ⋅ ----R- [EQ 3-21]
i=1 j i=1
Where:
W/R is known as the processing gain
No
η = ------ is the predefined threshold
Io
Hence, the probability of blocking for CDMA is defined as the probability that the above condition
holds true.
k othercells k
W
Pblocking = Probability {Z = νi ε i + vi ( j )εi ( j ) > ( 1 – η ) ⋅ ----R- } [EQ 3-22]
i=1 j i=1
Notice that the blocking probability for CDMA is determined by the system Eb/Io performance,
voice or data activity factor, the spread spectrum bandwidth, the data rate, and the maximum
To evaluate the blocking probability, the distribution of Z has to be determined which, in turn,
depends on the following random variables: voice or data activity ( ν ), bit energy to interference
ratio ( ε ), the total number of users in the sector (Ns), and the number of active users per sector (k).
The voice or data activity ( ν ), is a binomial random variable with ρ = Pr ( ν =1), which is the gate
on probability. The distribution is given by:
--λ-
k
μ –λ
Pk = ----------- ⋅ exp ------ [EQ 3-24]
k! μ
Where:
λ and μ are the arrival and service rates and --λ- is the offered traffic
μ
The distribution of Eb/No depends on the power control mechanism in the system. Power control
allows the system to equalize the transmit power of all subscribers within the system. In a trial test,
the Eb/No performance was measured with a fixed system Frame Erasure Rate (FER) for a fully
loaded CDMA cell. The data showed the overall Eb/No was a log-normal distribution. Hence the
distribution of ε can be written as:
x ⁄ 10
ε = 10 [EQ 3-25]
Where:
x is a Gaussian Random Variable with mean m and standard deviation σ
2
( βσ )
E( ε ) = E[ exp ( βx ) ] = exp -------------- ⋅ exp ( βm ) [EQ 3-26]
2
Where:
( 10 )-
β = ln
---------------
10
For the single cell case, the second summation term in Equation 3-22 is zero (i.e. no interference
for other cells). Since Z is the sum of k random variables, where k is the number of simultaneous
users in the system, the Central Limit Theorem can be applied for the approximation for Z. The
central limit theorem states that the probability density function for the sum of a number of
independent random variables with arbitrary one-dimensional probability density function
approaches a Gaussian Distribution. Hence the probability of blocking can be rewritten as:
A – E(Z)
Probability of Blocking = Q ---------------------- [EQ 3-28]
STD ( Z )
Where:
E( ) is the expected value
Z
Z = ----------------------
exp ( βm )
∞
2
W⁄R –λ
A = ---------------------- ⋅ ( 1 – η ) and Q(x) = ---------- ⋅ e xp -------- dλ
1
exp ( βm ) 2π 2
x
The expected value and standard deviation of Z can be computed as follows. Since Z is the sum
of k random variables and k is a Poisson random variable;
ε
Let ε = ---------------------------
exp ( βm )
2
λ ( βσ )
E( Z )= E(k) E( γε ) = --- ⋅ ρ ⋅ exp -------------- [EQ 3-29]
μ 2
λ
VAR( Z ) = --- ⋅ ρ ⋅ exp [ 2 ( βσ ) ]
2
[EQ 3-30]
μ
Thus, the probability of blocking for a CDMA single cell system can be formulated as in
Equation 3-32.
Although the Single Cell Probability of Blocking equation (Equation 3-32) can be applied towards
both IS-95 and IS-2000 systems, it is typically applied towards analyzing a system utilizing a single
data rate. As such, it may be more appropriate in estimating the capacity of an IS-95 system, where
it is common to support a single data rate (i.e. Rate Set 1 or Rate Set 2). For IS-2000 systems which
utilize multiple data rates, the Single Cell Probability of Blocking equation can be used to analyze
the capacity of an individual data rate. It is not recommended to analyze a mixture of data rates.
Section 3.4 will introduce an analytical approach more suitable for systems serving multiple data
rates.
In a multiple-cell system the interference created by users in the serving cell and cells other than
the serving cell needs to be considered. The path loss characteristics and the overhead capacity for
soft handoffs need to be taken into account.
Power control is crucial to CDMA system performance. Assuming that the path loss depends only
on the subscriber-to-base distance, the subscribers will be power controlled by the nearest cell. The
generally accepted theoretical path loss model is to introduce an attenuation which is the product
of, the subscriber-to-base distance to the power α , and, a log-normal random variable with zero
mean and δ dB standard deviation.
ξ-
-----
10 –α
10 ⋅r [EQ 3-33]
Where:
r is distance from subscriber to cell site
PL = α ⋅ log ----
r
[EQ 3-34]
r 0
Where:
r and r 0 are the base-subscriber distance and the reference distance respectively
When plotting the signal strengths at a given radio path distance, the deviation from the local mean
values is approximately 8 dB. This standard deviation of 8 dB is roughly true in many different
areas. The path loss curves can be obtained by collecting data from different drive runs in different
environments. As long as the subscriber-to-base distance for each run is the same, the signal
strength data measured at that particular subscriber-to-base distance can be used for determining
the local mean values for the path loss at that distance.
Measurements of path loss have been made in several major cities. Some of the typical values are
tabulated as shown in Table 3-2.
The normalized interference density from other cells can be written as:
ξ
r m γ -----
- r 0 E b Rνκ
10 ∅ ξ, ----- ----------------- dA
10
Jo = ----- [EQ 3-35]
allcells r 0 rm Io W
Where:
rm Distance from any subscriber to its own cell not power controlled by the serving
cell
r0 Distance from any subscriber to the serving cell not power controlled by the
serving cell
γ Path loss exponent
ν Voice or data activity
Ioc Other cells interference density
Io Total allowable interference density
W Spread bandwidth
Eb*R Bit energy * data rate, which is the received power at the base station for any user,
assuming power control is applied
ξ Defines the path loss characteristics and is Gaussian random variables with zero
means and standard deviation of σ
By calculating the expected value and standard deviation Jo and z , the probability of blocking for
a CDMA multiple cell system can be formulated as follows.
α
λ r----- r0
E(J0) = E ( ε ) --- ρ
m 10α- -----
r0 exp [ ( βδ ) 2 ] 1 – Q ------------
log – β 2δ 2 dA
μ rm
allcell 2δ
2
λ
E(J0) = E ( ε ) --- ρ ⋅ [ I ( α, δ ) ] [EQ 3-36]
μ
2 λ r-----
2α r0
VAR(J0) = E ( ε ) --- ρ
m
exp [ ( βδ ) 2 ] 1 – Q ------------- log ----- – β 2δ 2 dA
20α
μ r0
2 rm
allcell 2δ
2 λ
VAR(J0) = E ( ε ) --- ρ ⋅ [ I ( 2α, δ ) ] [EQ 3-37]
μ
The following figure provides the values of the numerical integration of the integral I ( α, δ ) and
I ( 2α, δ ) versus various log-normal path loss slopes with a standard deviation of 8 dB.
Figure 3-6: Values of the Integral I ( α, δ ) and I ( 2α, δ ) with Various Path Loss Slope
1.5
I(alpha,sigma=8dB)
I(2alpha,sigma=8dB)
Values of the Integrals
1.0
0.5
0.0
30 35 40 45 50
Path Loss (dB/dec)
2
λ ( βσ )
E ( Z ) = --- ρ ⋅ exp -------------- [ 1 + I ( α, δ, r ) ] [EQ 3-38]
μ 2
– E(Z)
Pblocking with outer cell interference = Q A
---------------------- [EQ 3-40]
STD ( Z )
Where:
W⁄R
A = ---------------------- ⋅ ( 1 – η ) [EQ 3-41]
exp ( βm )
∞
2
–λ
Q ( x ) = ---------- ⋅ e xp -------- dλ
1
2
[EQ 3-42]
2π
x
W⁄R 2
---------------------- ⋅ ( 1 – η ) – --λ- ρ ⋅ exp -------------- [ 1 + I ( α, δ, r ) ]
( βσ )
exp ( βm ) μ 2
Probability of Blocking = Q ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [EQ 3-43]
--λ- ρ ⋅ exp [ 2 ( βσ ) 2 ] [ 1 + I ( 2α, δ, r ) ]
μ
Using Equation 3-32 and Equation 3-43, the probability of blocking is plotted against the Erlang
capacity per CDMA sector in different situations. A list of parameters is included at the bottom of
each plot.
Note: The figure above is for demonstration purposes, as it is only valid for the assumptions
applied and for the following parameters:
Parameters:
• Mean Eb/No = 7 dB
• Pwr Ctrl Std Dev = 2.5 dB
• Voice or Data Activity Factor = 0.4
• Spread Bandwidth = 1.23 MHz
• Data Rate = 9600 bps (Rate Set 1)
• Total Interference Density to Background Noise Level (Io/No) = 10 dB
• Shadowing Standard Dev = 8 dB
Note: The figure above is for demonstration purposes, as it is only valid for the assumptions
applied and for the following parameters:
Parameters:
• Mean Eb/No = 7 dB
• Voice or Data Activity Factor = 0.4
• Spread Bandwidth = 1.23 MHz
• Data Rate = 9600 bps (Rate Set 1)
• Total Interference Density to Background Noise Level (Io/No) = 10 dB
• Path Loss Slope = 40 dB/dec
• Shadowing Std Dev = 8 dB
Note: The figure above is for demonstration purposes, as it is only valid for the assumptions
applied and for the following parameters:
Parameters:
• Mean Eb/No = 7 dB
• Pwr Ctrl Std Dev = 2.5 dB
• Voice or Data Activity Factor = 0.4
• Spread Bandwidth = 1.23 MHz
• Data Rate = 14400 bps (Rate Set 2)
• Total Interference Density to Background Noise Level (Io/No) = 10 dB
• Shadowing Standard Dev = 8 dB
Note: The figure above is for demonstration purposes, as it is only valid for the assumptions
applied and for the following parameters:
Parameters:
• Mean Eb/No = 7 dB
• Voice or Data Activity Factor = 0.4
• Spread Bandwidth = 1.23 MHz
• Data Rate = 14400 bps (Rate Set 2)
• Total Interference Density to Background Noise Level (Io/No) = 10 dB
• Path Loss Slope = 40 dB/dec
• Shadowing Std Dev = 8 dB
The Multiple Cell Probability of Blocking equation shown in Equation 3-43 can be applied towards
both IS-95 and IS-2000 systems. Since, it is typically applied towards analyzing a system utilizing
a single data rate, it may be more appropriate in estimating the capacity of an IS-95 system, where
it is common to support a single data rate (i.e. Rate Set 1 or Rate Set 2). For IS-2000 systems which
utilize multiple data rates, the Multiple Cell Probability of Blocking equation can be used to
analyze the capacity of an individual data rate. It is not recommended in analyzing a mixture of
data rates. Section 3.4 provides an approach more suitable for systems serving multiple data rates.
This section provides a method of estimating the noise rise for a particular user type. The
estimating approach will also allow the calculation of the total noise rise for multiple user types.
As a result, the noise rise estimation approach provided in this section is better suited to estimate
the capacity of a system which utilizes multiple user types (i.e. multiple data rates). Although this
capacity estimation approach can be applied towards both IS-95 and IS-2000 systems, it may be
more appropriate in estimating the capacity of an IS-2000 system, where it is more common to
support different user type profiles utilizing different data rates.
For IS-2000 systems, it is important to note that the capacity estimation calculation provided in this
section does not account for the dynamic resource allocation capabilities of an IS-2000 1X packet
data user. Within the IS-2000 1X infrastructure, the subscriber will be assigned supplemental
channel resources based upon several criteria (e.g. the demand requirements for the amount of data
to be transmitted, RF capacity availability, Walsh code resource availability, etc.). The allocation
of these IS-2000 1X supplemental channel resources are also dynamically adjusted throughout the
duration of the packet data call. The capacity estimation calculation provided in this section treats
a packet data user more like a circuit data user. The capacity formulas provided imply a fixed
resource allocation where there are X users at 9.6 kbps, Y users at 19.2 kbps, Z users at 38.4 kbps,
etc. As a result, the capacity obtained from the capacity estimation approach will differ from that
of an actual IS-2000 1X system. For a more accurate estimation of packet data services, it is
recommended to utilize a simulation tool which simulates the dynamic resource allocation
capabilities of an IS-2000 1X system. The time-sliced simulation function of the NetPlan tool can
be used for this purpose. However, NetPlan has reached end of life and is no longer supported.
IDGP also performs capacity analysis using non-time sliced simulation. IDGP's load point
analysis feature, shows the increase in noise rise as erlangs are added to the system. See
Section 3.12 for more information on the simulation capabilities of the IDGP tool.
The reverse link pole capacity is considered to be the point where an additional user will cause the
noise rise within the cell to increase exponentially. This will create an unstable situation where user
connections may be lost and the network grade of service will be severely degraded. The reverse
link noise rise pole capacity can be represented by the following equation:
Where:
X Percent of reverse link pole capacity, traffic loading factor
Refer to Section 4.2.2.1 for a derivation of Equation 3-44. A graph of the reverse noise rise pole
capacity equation (Equation 3-44) is shown in Figure 3-11.
20
15
Interference Rise, Z (dB)
10
0
0% 25% 50% 75% 100%
Loading Factor, X
In order to estimate the capacity from a number of users perspective, a reverse noise rise capacity
limit must be selected. For CDMA RF system designs (for both IS-95A/B and IS-2000), a peak
noise rise of 10 dB is recommended to be the maximum that a system should tolerate. The average
noise rise would be several dB below this peak value. It is important to note that the 10 dB noise
rise limit is a peak value which is associated with a certain probability factor (see Equation 3-48
and Section 3.4.3). The recommended probability factors associated with the 10 dB peak noise rise
recommendation are as follows.
• 10 dB noise rise with a 90% probability factor (for aggressive capacity results)
• 10 dB noise rise with a 95% probability factor (for moderate capacity results)
• 10 dB noise rise with a 98% probability factor (for conservative capacity results)
Although the above recommendation provides some flexibility in selecting a probability factor, the
10 dB noise rise with a 95% probability factor is the typical limit that is normally recommended.
To approximate the number of users that could be supported by a site while staying below a desired
noise rise limit, the following reverse link capacity equations can be utilized.
The variance for the multi-service traffic loading factor, X, is expressed as:
M 2
ψ( m ) + ( ν( m ) )
Var ( X ) = - × exp [ 2βε ( m ) + 2 ( βσ ( m ) ) 2 ]
L ( m ) × ----------------------------------
F × ( PG( m) )
2
[EQ 3-47]
m=1
The following equation provides the distribution of the noise rise, Z, for the multi-service traffic
loading factor, X:
Where:
M Number of different service-types
Eb ( m )
------------- The energy-per-bit to total-interference-density target of the mth service-type
NT
β LN(10)/10
F A measure of the in-cell to total interference density (own cell plus other cell)
Briefly looking at Equation 3-46 and Equation 3-47, the average and variance of the loading factor
will increase as the number of users increases. Additionally, as the average and variance values
increase, so does Z, as reflected by Equation 3-48.
In a scenario with multiple services, the equations are a bit more complex than for a single service.
Basically, an average and variance needs to be determined for each service offered. The net rise,
Z, will need to account for all of the users being handled by each service.
The probability factor (Pa) in Equation 3-48 is used to calculate a percentile noise rise. The
percentile noise rise is used as the interference margin within the RF link budget calculation of cell
range. Therefore, scenarios with different traffic mixes and rise probabilities but with a constant
percentile noise rise will all maintain the same cell range. However, the mean noise rise and cell
capacity (throughput and Erlangs) will vary depending upon the mix of the different services for
the given scenario.
The probability factor is calculated as the inverse of the standard normal cumulative distribution
with a mean of 0 and a standard deviation of 1. Figure 3-12 shows the relationship of the
probability factor with the Probability Density Function (PDF) and the Cumulative Distribution
Function (CDF) for a standard normal distribution with a mean of 0 and a standard deviation of 1.
1
95%ile
98%ile
0.8 85%ile
75%il
Distribution
0.6
50%ile
0.4
0.2 PDF
CDF
0
-3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3
Probability Factor (Pa)
The rise curves in Figure 3-13 show the 50th (average) and 95th percentile noise rise against cell
loading in terms of the number of users. It can be seen that the 95th percentile noise rise curve rises
faster than the 50th percentile (average) noise rise curve and at the 95th percentile noise rise of 10
dB for the example provided in Figure 3-13 below, the 50th percentile (average) noise rise is
approximately 5 dB. The relationship between a given percentile rise curve and the average rise
curve will be dependent upon what percentile is being represented and also upon the particular call
model traffic mix.
25 1
0.9
% of Radius
20 0.8
0.7
95%ile Rise
Relative Radius
15 0.6
Rise (dB)
0.5
10 0.4
0.3
5 0.2
0.1
50%ile (Avg.) Rise
0 0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35
Users
Note: The figure above is for demonstration purposes, as it is only valid for the assumptions
applied for the scenario portrayed (i.e. 30 kmph, 100% voice, etc.).
Figure 3-13 also shows how the relative cell range decreases with the increasing number of users.
The following section provides two examples of how to use the reverse link noise rise capacity
estimation equations provided in Section 3.4.2. The first example estimates the noise rise for a
single service type of traffic load of voice users only. The second example provides the calculations
required to estimate the noise rise for a multiple service type of traffic load with a mixture of voice
and data users.
The following example calculates the noise rise for, on average, 20 IS-2000 1X voice users at 9600
bps, in a 3-sectored system with a 95% probability factor. Additional assumptions are provided
below.
Traffic Load:
20 Voice users (average) at 9600 bps
General Assumptions:
• 0.45 = F-factor (3 sector cell site assumed)
• 1.64 = probability factor for 95% (Pa)
• 0.23 = Beta value LN(10)/10 ( β )
The first step is to calculate the mean value of the traffic loading factor, X, for the 20 average voice
users by using Equation 3-46 (repeated below for reference).
M 2
ν(m ) ( βσ ( m ) )
E[X] = L ( m ) × ------------------------ × exp βε ( m ) + ---------------------
F × PG( m) 2
m=1
Using the input variables from the assumptions above, E[X] is calculated as follows:
2
0.713 ( ( 0.230259 ) ⋅ ( 2.5 ) )
E [ X ] = 20 × ------------------------- × exp ( 0.230259 ) ⋅ ( 3.6 ) + ---------------------------------------------------
0.45 × 128 2
The next step is to calculate the variance for the traffic loading factor, X, for the 20 average voice
users by using Equation 3-47 (repeated below for reference).
M 2
ψ( m ) + ( ν( m ) )
Var ( X ) = - × exp [ 2βε ( m ) + 2 ( βσ ( m ) ) 2 ]
L ( m ) × ----------------------------------
F × ( PG( m) )
2
m=1
2
0.1 + ( 0.713 ) 2
Var ( X ) = 20 × ---------------------------------2- × exp [ 2 ⋅ ( 0.230259 ) ( 3.6 ) + 2 ⋅ ( ( 0.230259 ) ⋅ ( 2.5 ) ) ]
0.45 × ( 128 )
The final step is to calculate the noise rise, Z, for the 20 average voice users by using Equation 3-
48 (repeated below for reference).
Z = – 10 × Log 10 ( 1 – Pa × Var ( X ) – E [ X ] )
The following example calculates the noise rise for a multiple service type traffic load environment
consisting of, on average, 6 IS-2000 1X voice users at 9600 bps, 3 IS-2000 1X data users at 19200
bps, and 1 data user at 38400 bps. Additional assumptions are provided below.
Traffic Load:
6 Voice users (average) at 9600 bps
3 Data users (average) at 19200 bps
1 Data user (average) at 38400 bps
General Assumptions:
• 0.45 = F-factor (3 sector cell site assumed)
• 1.64 = probability factor for 95% (Pa)
• 0.23 = Beta value LN(10)/10 ( β )
The first step is to calculate the mean value of the traffic loading factor for the 6 average voice users
at 9600 bps by using Equation 3-46. Using the input variables from the assumptions above,
E[X]9600 is calculated as follows:
2
0.713 ( ( 0.230259 ) ⋅ ( 2.5 ) )
E [ X ] 9600 = 6 × ------------------------- × exp ( 0.230259 ) ⋅ ( 3.6 ) + ---------------------------------------------------
0.45 × 128 2
Now, calculate the mean value of the traffic loading factor for the 3 average data users at 19200
bps by using Equation 3-46. Using the input variables from the assumptions above, E[X]19200 is
calculated as follows:
2
1 ( ( 0.230259 ) ⋅ ( 2.5 ) )
E [ X ] 19200 = 3 × ---------------------- × exp ( 0.230259 ) ⋅ ( 3.0 ) + ---------------------------------------------------
0.45 × 64 2
Now, calculate the mean value of the traffic loading factor for the 1 average data user at 38400 bps
2
1 ( ( 0.230259 ) ⋅ ( 2.5 ) )
E [ X ] 38400 = 1 × ---------------------- × exp ( 0.230259 ) ⋅ ( 2.4 ) + ---------------------------------------------------
0.45 × 32 2
Finally, calculate the total loading factor E[X]Total for all user types by summing together all of the
individual results.
The next step is to calculate the variance for the traffic loading factor for the 6 average voice users
at 9600 bps by using Equation 3-47. Using the input variables from the assumptions above,
Var(X)9600 is calculated as follows:
2
0.1 + ( 0.713 ) 2
Var ( X ) 9600 = 6 × ---------------------------------2- × exp [ 2 ⋅ ( 0.230259 ) ( 3.6 ) + 2 ⋅ ( ( 0.230259 ) ⋅ ( 2.5 ) ) ]
0.45 × ( 128 )
Now, calculate the variance for the traffic loading factor for the 3 average data users at 19200 bps
by using Equation 3-47. Using the input variables from the assumptions above, Var(X)19200 is
calculated as follows:
2
0.1 + ( 1 ) 2
Var ( X ) 19200 = 3 × -----------------------------2- × exp [ 2 ⋅ ( 0.230259 ) ( 3.0 ) + 2 ⋅ ( ( 0.230259 ) ⋅ ( 2.5 ) ) ]
0.45 × ( 64 )
Now, calculate the variance for the traffic loading factor for the 1 average data user at 38400 bps
by using Equation 3-47. Using the input variables from the assumptions above, Var(X)38400 is
calculated as follows:
2
0.1 + ( 1 ) 2
Var ( X ) 38400 = 1 × -----------------------------2- × exp [ 2 ⋅ ( 0.230259 ) ( 2.4 ) + 2 ⋅ ( ( 0.230259 ) ⋅ ( 2.5 ) ) ]
0.45 × ( 32 )
The final step is to calculate the noise rise, Z, for the total traffic load using a 95% probability factor
by using Equation 3-48 (as shown below).
In order to calculate the capacity supported by the air interface in an IS-2000 1X system, it is
important to determine the values of the various factors that affect the capacity. The IS-2000 1X
reverse link capacity estimates (throughput and Erlangs) provided in this document are based on
the reverse link noise rise capacity estimation equations provided in Section 3.4.2 and utilizing the
parameter value assumptions that follow.
The following are the assumptions for the various IS-2000 1X parameter values to be applied to
the reverse link noise rise capacity estimation equations.
For the purpose of determining capacity estimates, a 10 dB maximum noise rise value was selected.
Additionally, each rise has a probability factor, Pa, associated with it. The following table provides
some of the recommended noise rise values and probability factors used for this exercise.
Since the probability factor is associated with a normal distribution, the 50% probability factor
implies an average noise rise value. Therefore, for the scenarios where the probability factor is
greater than 50%, the average noise rise will be less than the rise value shown. This can be
illustrated further through Figure 3-12, where the 50% probability factor is associated with the
average point in the normal distribution curve. However, a higher probability factor would be
The capacity tables shown in Section 3.4.5.9 provide both the capacity (in Erlangs and throughput)
and the average rise values associated with a 10 dB peak noise rise for the 90%, 95%, and 98%
probability factors. Typical RF designs should strive to keep the peak percentile probability reverse
noise rise value less than 10 dB.
Various probability factors were used in scenarios to estimate the capacity for aggressive (90%),
moderate (95%), or conservative (98%) cases. Additionally, a rise value of less than 10 dB can be
used to demonstrate the impact on capacity, in order to trade capacity for increased reverse link
coverage.
In all of the test cases, the cell loading is considered uniform in each sector (homogeneous network)
and as such the rise is the same across each cell. In practice, the non-homogeneous nature of cell
loading will mean that an individual cell may be able to cope with a peak load higher than the
homogeneous case.
3.4.5.2 F-factor
F-factor is the ratio of own cell interference to own cell plus other cell interference. Simulations
have shown that the F-factor varies with the antenna types and propagation index. For this exercise,
the following F-factors have been assumed:
In looking at Equation 3-46 and Equation 3-47, the number of users is proportional to the F-factor
in order to maintain the same average and variance load factors. That is, an increase to the F-factor
(out of cell interference is reduced compared to own cell interference) will result in an increase in
the number of users. A decrease to the F-factor, implying out of cell interference is more prevalent,
will result in a decrease to the number of users.1
1. Additional information showing the relationship of the F-factor to the antenna type and propagation index
can be found in the following references.
a. R.H. Owen, Phil Jones, Shirin Dehgan, Dave Lister, "Uplink WCDMA capacity and range as a function of
inter-to-intra cell interference: theory and practice", pp. 298-302, VTC 2000.
b. Szu-Wei Wang and Irving Wang, "Effects of Soft Handoff, Frequency Reuse and Non-Ideal Antenna Sec-
torization on CDMA System Capacity", pp. 850-854, IEEE 1993.
Eb/No is defined as energy per bit to the noise spectral density. The appropriate value for the
required Eb/No is such that the desired bit, block, or frame erasure rate of the received signal is
achieved. This gives an indication of the lowest signal strength that the receiver can detect above
a certain noise level. Such items as the subscriber speed, the propagation environment, and power
control impact the required Eb/No.
The Eb/No numbers used for each data rate in this document are typical numbers that are used for
dimensioning purposes. The Eb/No values were obtained from reverse link level simulations. The
Eb/No values used for this exercise are shown in Table 3-6.
The link level simulations used to generate the Eb/No values utilized the following assumptions:
In looking at Equation 3-46 and Equation 3-47 again, the number of users is inversely proportional
to the Eb/No in order to maintain the same average and variance load factor. That is, an increase in
the Eb/No will result in a decrease in the number of users. A decrease to the Eb/No will result in an
increase to the number of users.
A standard deviation of 2.5 dB on the Eb/No is assumed for each rate. This standard deviation for
the Eb/No is used to adjust the average Eb/No to compensate for imperfect power control in the real
world environment.
The number of users is inversely proportional to the Eb/No standard deviation in order to maintain
the same average and variance load factor. That is, an increase in the Eb/No standard deviation will
result in a decrease in the number of users. A decrease to the Eb/No standard deviation will result
in an increase to the number of users.
The Eb/No standard deviation has been assumed to be the same for each data rate. In a real world
situation this may not be the case, but for an estimate of the capacity (as used for this exercise), one
value has been assumed for all services.
The processing gain is the ratio of the chip rate to the bit rate. For IS-2000 1X, the chip rate is equal
to 1.2288 x 106 chips/s. The calculation of the processing gain in linear and in dB units are provided
below.
Where:
W Bandwidth (1.2288 Mcps for IS-2000 1X)
R Information rate
The following table provides a summary of the Eb/No, Eb/No Standard Deviation, and the
processing gain values used for the various data rates that were analyzed.
Recall that the Eb/No values shown in the above table were obtained from reverse link level
simulations and represent typical values that are used for dimensioning purposes. The Eb/No values
will vary based on the subscriber speed, propagation conditions, percent FER, etc. For detailed
capacity and coverage results, Nokia Siemens Networks recommends using the IDGP simulation
tool. This simulation tool incorporates a family of Eb/No curves as opposed to only a few Eb/No
values.
The bearer rate data in Table 3-6 represents a data link layer rate from the subscriber’s perspective.
It does not include any overhead (RLP, framing, etc.). The bearer rates in Table 3-6 are used in the
calculation of the throughput capacity (see Section 3.4.5.8).
The activity factor is defined as the percentage of time that a user transmits on an active traffic
channel. With IS-95, a typical industry accepted voice activity factor was 40%. This roughly
equated to 32% of the time the user was at full rate and 68% of the time the user was at eighth rate.
( – 3.75 ⁄ 10 )
0.32 + 0.68 ⁄ 6.4 + 0.68 ⋅ 10 = 0.713
For IS-2000 1X, the extra CRC bits being sent produces an effective eighth rate of 1500 bps. The
(0.68/6.4) term accounts for the extra CRC bits (where 9600/1500 = 6.4). The (0.68 x 10(-3.75/10))
term accounts for the reverse pilot overhead channel.
It should be noted that this adjusted activity factor is utilized in the capacity equation as a means
to derate the capacity due to the reverse pilot overhead channel and CRC bits. In converting the
voice users to an equivalent throughput, the voice activity factor of 40% (0.4) is used.
For the capacity results provided in this section, two different data activity factors (0.9 and 0.2) are
assumed to show the impact of a high and low data activity factor user type.
The number of users is inversely proportional to the activity factor in order to maintain the same
average and variance load factor. That is, an increase in the activity factor will result in a decrease
in the number of users. A decrease to the activity factor will result in an increase to the number of
users.
Four different traffic mix scenarios were analyzed as reflected in the following table.
The percentage of users can be interpreted, for example, as follows. In Scenario A, 100% of the
users are voice users at 8.6 kbps. In this scenario, all users in the network are continuously
transmitting at the relevant voice activity and at the required power to reach their respective Eb/No
value. For Scenario C, 50% of the users are voice users at 8.6 kbps, 40% of the users are using 64
kbps, and the remaining 10% of the users are at 128.8 kbps.
With multiple rate high-speed data services being introduced into the call model traffic mix, the
capacity of a cell/sector should now be quantified with a throughput value in addition to the number
For a single data rate user example, consider scenario A with a rise of 10 dB and a probability factor
of 95% (see Table 3-8). The voice rate assumed is 8.6 kbps and as such, approximately 27 Erlangs
at the pedestrian speed can be supported in a single sector of a 3-sectored cell. This corresponds to
a throughput capacity of approximately 93 kbps / sector (8.6 kbps x 0.40 AF x 27 Erlangs). As
stated previously (see Section 3.4.5.6), an adjusted activity factor is utilized in the capacity
equation as a means to derate the capacity due to the reverse pilot overhead channel and extra CRC
bits. In converting the voice users to an equivalent throughput capacity, the non-adjusted voice
activity factor of 40% (0.4) is used for the throughput calculation, instead of the adjusted activity
factor of approximately 71.3% (as calculated in Section 3.4.5.6).
For a multiple data rate mixture of users, the throughput capacity is calculated for each individual
data rate user type and then summed together. For example, consider traffic mix scenario C with a
probability of 95% and a data activity factor of 20%. From the results in Table 3-8, an estimated
19.3 Erlangs at the pedestrian speed can be supported in a single sector of a 3-sectored cell with a
total throughput of 182 kbps. The traffic distribution for scenario C is 50% for 8.6 kbps voice users,
40% for 64.0 kbps data users, and 10% for 128.8 kbps data users. According to the traffic
distribution of scenario C, the throughput capacity is calculated as follows.
8.6 kbps Voice User Thruput = 8.6 kbps x 0.4 AF x (19.3 x 0.5) Erlangs = 33.2 kbps
64.0 kbps Data User Thruput = 64.0 kbps x 0.2 AF x (19.3 x 0.4) Erlangs = 98.8 kbps
128.8 kbps Data User Thruput = 128.8 kbps x 0.2 AF x (19.3 x 0.1) Erlangs = 49.7 kbps
Total Throughput = 181.7 kbps
The following two tables provide capacity values (expressed as kbps throughput and Erlangs) per
sector for the various scenarios assuming an interference rise limit of 10 dB but with varying levels
of probability. For the traffic mix scenarios which include data users (Scenarios B, C, and D),
capacity results for two different Data Activity Factors (AF) are provided. A 90% Data AF is used
to estimate the results of high data activity factor users such as a File Transfer Protocol (FTP) user.
A 20% Data AF is used to estimate the results of lower data activity factor users such as a Low
Speed Packet Data (LSPD) or a High Speed Packet Data (HSPD) user. All of the traffic mix
scenarios in Table 3-8 below assume pedestrian (3 kmph) Eb/No values.
Table 3-8: Reverse Capacity per Sector for Various Probabilities of Rise - Pedestrian
Scenario Rise Data Avg Rise Throughput (kbps/Sector) Erlangs/Sector
Probability AF (dB) Omni 3-Sector 6-Sector Omni 3-Sector 6-Sector
A 98% N/A 4.7 117 88 78 33.6 25.2 22.4
95% N/A 5.3 124 93 83 35.7 26.8 23.8
90% N/A 5.9 131 98 88 37.7 28.3 25.1
B 98% 90% 3.3 209 156 139 14.6 10.9 9.7
98% 20% 4.2 163 122 109 30.5 22.9 20.3
95% 90% 3.8 232 174 154 16.2 12.1 10.8
95% 20% 4.8 175 132 117 32.8 24.6 21.9
90% 90% 4.5 254 191 170 17.8 13.3 11.9
90% 20% 5.4 187 140 125 35.0 26.3 23.4
C 98% 90% 2.6 234 176 156 6.4 4.8 4.3
98% 20% 3.4 220 165 147 23.3 17.5 15.5
95% 90% 3.1 268 201 179 7.4 5.5 4.9
95% 20% 3.9 243 182 162 25.8 19.3 17.2
90% 90% 3.8 303 227 202 8.3 6.2 5.5
90% 20% 4.6 266 200 177 28.2 21.1 18.8
D 98% 90% 2.3 241 181 161 3.5 2.6 2.3
98% 20% 2.8 266 200 177 16.9 12.7 11.3
95% 90% 2.9 279 210 186 4.0 3.0 2.7
95% 20% 3.4 301 226 201 19.1 14.3 12.7
90% 90% 3.5 320 240 213 4.6 3.4 3.1
90% 20% 4.0 336 252 224 21.4 16.0 14.2
Table 3-9: Reverse Capacity per Sector for Various Probabilities of Rise - Vehicle
Scenario Rise Data Avg. Rise Throughput (kbps/Sector) Erlangs/Sector
Probability AF (dB) Omni 3-Sector 6-Sector Omni 3-Sector 6-Sector
A 98% N/A 4.4 89 67 59 25.5 19.1 17.0
95% N/A 5.0 95 71 63 27.3 20.4 18.2
90% N/A 5.6 101 76 67 29.0 21.7 19.3
B 98% 90% 2.4 108 81 72 7.5 5.6 5.0
98% 20% 3.5 104 78 69 19.4 14.6 12.9
95% 90% 3.0 124 93 83 8.7 6.5 5.8
95% 20% 4.0 114 86 76 21.4 16.0 14.3
90% 90% 3.6 141 106 94 9.9 7.4 6.6
90% 20% 4.7 125 94 83 23.3 17.5 15.6
C 98% 90% 2.0 113 85 75 3.1 2.3 2.1
98% 20% 2.7 120 90 80 12.8 9.6 8.5
95% 90% 2.5 134 101 89 3.7 2.8 2.5
95% 20% 3.2 137 103 92 14.6 10.9 9.7
90% 90% 3.1 157 118 105 4.3 3.2 2.9
90% 20% 3.8 155 116 103 16.4 12.3 10.9
D 98% 90% 1.8 114 86 76 1.6 1.2 1.1
98% 20% 2.2 132 99 88 8.4 6.3 5.6
95% 90% 2.3 138 103 92 2.0 1.5 1.3
95% 20% 2.7 154 116 103 9.8 7.4 6.5
90% 90% 2.8 163 122 109 2.3 1.8 1.6
90% 20% 3.3 178 133 119 11.3 8.5 7.5
The results in Table 3-8 and Table 3-9 show the capacity estimates for an IS-2000 1X reverse link
under the stated configurations, assumptions, and parameter values. As shown above, the capacity
estimate can vary greatly depending upon the parameter values that are chosen. Although the
stated assumptions and parameter values used for this exercise are deemed to be realistic, the
accuracy of the capacity estimate is highly dependent upon the accuracy of the assumptions and
parameter values used for the capacity estimate.
With new higher data rate services being introduced (via IS-95B or IS-2000), it is expected that the
forward link will require higher data downloads than the reverse link. As a result, the forward link
is also expected to be the limiting path from a capacity perspective. Even though the forward link
may be the limiting factor of capacity for some systems, it may still be appropriate to use the
previous reverse link capacity estimates to approximate the CDMA carrier capacity under the
given assumptions and conditions. In many instances, the capacity analysis results of the reverse
link can sometimes provide an adequate budgetary estimate for the CDMA carrier. Ultimately,
simulations should be used (i.e. using IDGP) to obtain more accurate capacity estimations.
Simulations can take into account many variable elements for which a general reverse or forward
As a point of reference, the CDMA Development Group (CDG) has published a report2 with
simulation results for voice users showing 29.9 Erlangs for the reverse link and 23.6 Erlangs for
the forward link. These capacity values were based on a generic 37 site system. Furthermore, the
sites were three-sector and a vehicular fading model was assumed.
The following figure shows the relationship between the reverse link noise rise and the throughput
for several probability curves. The input parameters used to create the figure are shown below. The
50%-ile curve corresponds to the average rise.
10
8
Noise Rise (dB)
0
0 50 100 150 200 250
Throughput (Kbps)
Note: The figure above is for demonstration purposes, as it is only valid for the assumptions
applied and for the following parameters:
Parameters:
• Traffic mix = Scenario B
• Voice activity factor = 57.6%
• Data activity factor = 100%
The following figure shows the relationship between reverse link noise rise and Erlangs of various
data rates. The input parameters used to create the figure are shown below.
Figure 3-15: Reverse Link Rise vs. Erlangs for Different Data Rates
10
9
8
7
Noise Rise (dB)
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
Erlangs
Voice @ 9600 Data @ 19200 Data @ 38400 Data @ 76800 Data @ 153600
Note: The figure above is for demonstration purposes, as it is only valid for the assumptions
applied and for the following parameters:
Parameters:
• Voice and data activity factor = 57.6%
• Mean square of activity factor = 0.1 dB
• F-factor = 0.45 (3-sector cell site configuration)
• Probability factor = 95%
• Vehicular (30 kmph) Eb/No assumptions from Table 3-6 were used
• Eb/No standard deviation = 2.5 dB
The curves in the figure above show the significant impact that data users can have on the capacity
of a system. The voice and data activity factors were purposely set to the same value in order to
reflect the capacity impact of just varying the data rate.
Figure 3-16: Reverse Link Total Erlangs & Throughput vs. Data Activity Factor
30.0 120
25.0 100
15.0 60
10.0 40
5.0 20
0.0 0
10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90%
Note: The figure above is for demonstration purposes, as it is only valid for the assumptions
applied and for the following parameters:
Parameters:
• Traffic mix = Scenario B
• Peak noise rise = 10 dB
• Probability factor = 95%
• Voice activity factor = 57.6%
• Mean square of activity factor = 0.1 dB
• F-factor = 0.45 (3-sector cell site configuration)
• Vehicular (30 kmph) Eb/No assumptions from Table 3-6 were used
• Eb/No standard deviation = 2.5 dB
A forward link load factor, η FL , can be defined in a similar approach as the reverse link pole
capacity equations, although some of the parameters are slightly different. The following equation
can be used to represent the forward link load factor.
N
( Eb ⁄ No )j
η FL = ν j ⋅ ---------------------- ⋅ [ ( 1 – α j ) + i j ]
W ⁄ Rj
[EQ 3-49]
j=1
Where:
η FL Forward link load factor
When compared to the reverse link equations, the primary new parameter is α j , which represents
the orthogonality factor for the forward link users. Since the forward link employs orthogonal
codes to separate the users, multipath propagation can cause sufficient delay spread in the radio
channel which produces interference. Thus, the orthogonality factor is used to estimate the amount
of interference created by the multipath propagation environment, where a value of 1 corresponds
For the forward link, the ratio of out of cell to in cell base station power received, i j , is dependent
upon the individual user location and is therefore different for each user.
When the forward link load factor approaches unity, the system reaches its pole capacity and the
noise rise over thermal goes to infinity. The forward link noise rise pole capacity can be represented
by the following equation:
Where:
Z Noise rise (dB)
The forward link noise rise pole capacity equation can be used to estimate the noise rise over
thermal noise due to multiple access interference. This is similar to the reverse link equation (see
Equation 3-44) and has the same characteristics as shown in Figure 3-11.
For forward link dimensioning, it is important to take into account the total amount of base station
transmission power required. The power estimate should be based on the average transmission
power for the user and not the maximum transmission power for a user at the cell edge which is
typically shown by the link budget. The total base station transmission power for a user at an
‘average’ location within the cell can be mathematically expressed by the following equation.
N
( Eb ⁄ No )j
N rf ⋅ W ⋅ L ⋅ j ----------------------
ν ⋅
W ⁄ Rj
j=1
----------------------------------------------------------------------
-
BS_Tx_Power = [EQ 3-51]
1 – η FL
Where:
N rf Noise spectral density of the subscriber receiver front-end or N rf = k ⋅ T + NF ,
– 23
where k is Boltzmann’s constant ( 1.38 ⋅ 10 ) J/K, T is temperature in degrees
Kelvin (290 K), and NF is the subscriber station noise figure
L Average attenuation between the base station transmitter and the subscriber
station receiver
η FL Average load factor using Equation 3-49 with average values for α j and i j
For the forward link of a CDMA cell site, there is a fixed amount of power that is allocated for a
CDMA carrier on a per-cell/per-sector basis. Since this is a fixed resource, an alternate method for
estimating forward link capacity is to normalize this fixed power resource and estimate the
fractional amount of power required for the average user while taking several factors into account
(i.e. distribution of users with 1-way, 2-way, & 3-way links, other cell interference, overhead
channel power, required Eb/Nt, forward power control error, activity factor, etc.).
The following equation represents a first order approximation of the forward link capacity using a
fractional power approach:
( 1 – ζ pps )
N < -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [EQ 3-52]
V eff ( 3S 3way ζ 3way + 2S 2way ζ 2way + S 1way ζ 1way )
Where:
N Traffic load supported (in Erlangs)
ζ pps Fraction of total cell power for pilot, page, and sync
The next step is to provide a more detailed estimate for the fraction of allocated cell power for each
i-way link.
Eb
-------------
- + FPC error ⁄ 10
Nt iway
( I on ( i ) – λ ( i ) ) ⋅ 10
ς i – way = --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [EQ 3-53]
W
i ⋅ λ ( i ) ⋅ -----
R
Where:
I on ( i ) Total normalized interference seen by i-way user
W Bandwidth of channel
R Data rate
The final step is to provide a more detailed estimate for the total normalized interference as seen
by each i-way user.
Where:
δ Adjacent carrier(s) noise factor
For the following examples, the values from Table 3-10 below (0 adjacent carriers is assumed) are
entered into Equation 3-52, Equation 3-53, and Equation 3-54 in order to estimate the forward link
capacity for a Rate Set 1 and Rate Set 2 system.
1. Estimate for the total normalized interference as seen by each i-way user.
I on ( 1 ) = 1 + 1 ⋅ 0.134 = 1.134
I on ( 2 ) = 2 + 1 ⋅ 0.3 = 2.3
I on ( 3 ) = 3 + 1 ⋅ 0.3 = 3.3
2. Estimate the fraction of allocated cell power for each i-way link.
( 13 + 1.5 ) ⁄ 10
( 1.134 – 0.92 ) ⋅ 10
ς 1 – way = ------------------------------------------------------------------------ = 0.0512
1 ⋅ 0.92 ⋅ 128
( 7 + 1.5 ) ⁄ 10
( 2.3 – 0.92 ) ⋅ 10
ς 2 – way = ---------------------------------------------------------------- = 0.0415
2 ⋅ 0.92 ⋅ 128
( 5 + 1.5 ) ⁄ 10
( 3.3 – 0.8 ) ⋅ 10
ς 3 – way = ------------------------------------------------------------- = 0.0364
2 ⋅ 0.8 ⋅ 128
3. Estimate the first order approximation of the forward link capacity using a fractional power
approach.
( 1 – 0.37 )
N < ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- = 14.6 Erlangs
0.56 ⋅ ( 3 ⋅ 0.25 ⋅ 0.0364 + 2 ⋅ 0.35 ⋅ 0.0415 + 0.40 ⋅ 0.0512 )
1. Estimate for the total normalized interference as seen by each i-way user (same for Rate Set 1).
I on ( 1 ) = 1 + 1 ⋅ 0.134 = 1.134
I on ( 2 ) = 2 + 1 ⋅ 0.3 = 2.3
I on ( 3 ) = 3 + 1 ⋅ 0.3 = 3.3
( 15.5 + 1.2 ) ⁄ 10
( 1.134 – 0.92 ) ⋅ 10
ς 1 – way = --------------------------------------------------------------------------- = 0.1275
1 ⋅ 0.92 ⋅ 85.33
( 9 + 1.2 ) ⁄ 10
( 2.3 – 0.92 ) ⋅ 10
ς 2 – way = ---------------------------------------------------------------- = 0.0920
2 ⋅ 0.92 ⋅ 85.33
( 7 + 1.2 ) ⁄ 10
( 3.3 – 0.8 ) ⋅ 10
ς 3 – way = ------------------------------------------------------------- = 0.0807
2 ⋅ 0.8 ⋅ 85.33
3. Estimate the first order approximation of the forward link capacity using a fractional power
approach.
( 1 – 0.37 )
N < ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- = 7.5 Erlangs
0.48 ⋅ ( 3 ⋅ 0.25 ⋅ 0.0807 + 2 ⋅ 0.35 ⋅ 0.0920 + 0.40 ⋅ 0.1275 )
This section provides a method of estimating the noise rise for a particular user type. The
estimating approach will also allow the calculation of the total noise rise for multiple user types.
As a result, the noise rise estimation approach provided in this section is better suited to estimate
the capacity of a system which utilizes multiple user types (i.e. multiple data rates). Although this
capacity estimation approach can be applied towards both IS-95 and IS-2000 systems, it may be
more appropriate in estimating the capacity of an IS-2000 system, where it is more common to
support different user type profiles utilizing different data rates.
For IS-2000 systems, it is important to note that the capacity estimation calculation provided in this
section does not account for the dynamic resource allocation capabilities of an IS-2000 1X packet
data system. Within the IS-2000 1X infrastructure, the subscriber will be assigned supplemental
channel resources based upon several criteria (e.g. the demand requirements for the amount of data
to be transmitted, RF capacity availability, Walsh code resource availability, etc.). The allocation
of these IS-2000 1X supplemental channel resources are also dynamically adjusted throughout the
duration of the packet data call. The capacity estimation calculation provided in this section treats
a packet data user more like a circuit data user. The capacity formulas provided imply a fixed
resource allocation where there are X users at 9.6 kbps, Y users at 19.2 kbps, Z users at 38.4 kbps,
etc. As a result, the capacity obtained from the capacity estimation approach may differ from that
Another aspect of the forward link capacity is the amount of base station transmission power
required. As the subscriber unit experiences more interference, it will request more power from its
serving base station to compensate for increased interference. Therefore, the transmission power
limitations of the base station may place an upper limit on the forward capacity available.
The forward link pole capacity is considered to be the point where additional power from the BTSs
to support an additional user will cause the noise rise within the subscriber unit to increase
exponentially. This will create an unstable situation where user connections may be lost and the
network grade of service will be severely degraded.
The forward link noise rise pole capacity can be represented by the same equation that is provided
in Equation 3-50. A graph of the forward noise rise pole capacity equation is the same as the one
for the reverse noise rise pole capacity equation which is shown in Figure 3-11.
In order to estimate the capacity from a number of users perspective, a forward noise rise capacity
limit must be selected. For CDMA RF system designs (for both IS-95A/B and IS-2000), a peak
noise rise of 10 dB is recommended to be the maximum that a system should tolerate (which is the
same limit for the reverse link). In order to account for the noise rise generated by the pilot, page,
and sync overhead channels for the forward link, a de-rating of the noise rise limit is recommended
as follows.
Assumptions:
Pilot = 20% of total power at maximum capacity
Page = 75% of the pilot power
Sync = 10% of the pilot power
PPStotal = 20% (for pilot) + 20% x 75% (for paging) + 20% x 10% (for sync) = 37%
Thus, the recommended de-rated peak noise rise limit is 8 dB. The average noise rise would be
several dB below this peak value. It is important to note that the 8 dB noise rise limit is a peak value
which is associated with a certain probability factor (see Equation 3-48 and Section 3.4.3). The
recommended probability factors associated with the 8 dB peak noise rise recommendation are as
follows.
• 8 dB noise rise with a 90% probability factor (for aggressive capacity results)
Although the above recommendation provides some flexibility in selecting a probability factor, the
8 dB noise rise with a 95% probability factor is the typical limit that is normally recommended.
To approximate the number of users that could be supported by a site while staying below a desired
noise rise limit, the following forward link capacity equations can be utilized.
The variance for the multi-service traffic loading factor, X, is expressed as:
M 2
ψ( m) + ( ν(m ) )
Var ( X ) = - × exp [ 2βε ( m ) + 2 ( βσ ( m ) ) 2 ] × [ ( 1 – α ( m ) ) + i ( m ) ] [EQ 3-57]
L ( m ) × ----------------------------------
( PG( m) )
2
m=1
The following equation provides the distribution of the noise rise, Z, for the multi-service traffic
loading factor, X (which is the same equation provided for the reverse link, Equation 3-48):
Where:
M Number of different service-types
Eb ( m )
------------- The energy-per-bit to total-interference-density target of the mth service-type
NT
β LN(10)/10
i( m ) Ratio of out of cell to in cell base station power received by the mth service-type,
InCell 1 1
where I = -------------------------------------------- = ------------------------------ = -----------
InCell + OutCell OutCell 1 + i
1 + ---------------------
InCell
Note: The terms I and i are equivalent to the terms F and f for the reverse link (see
Equation 3-13), but from a forward link perspective. For the forward link, the
ratio of out of cell to in cell base station power received, i ( m ) , is dependent upon
the individual user location and is therefore different for each user.
In a scenario with multiple services, the equations are a bit more complex than for a single service.
Basically, an average and variance needs to be determined for each service offered. The net rise,
Z, will need to account for all of the users being handled by each service.
The following section provides two examples of how to use the forward link noise rise capacity
estimation equations provided in Section 3.7.2. The first example estimates the noise rise for a
single service type of traffic load of voice users only. The second example provides the calculations
required to estimate the noise rise for a multiple service type of traffic load with a mixture of voice
and data users.
The following example calculates the noise rise for, on average, 16.3 IS-2000 1X voice users at
9600 bps, in a 3-sectored system with a 95% probability factor. Additional assumptions are
Traffic Load:
16.3 Voice users (average) at 9600 bps
General Assumptions:
1 1
• 0.45 = I-factor (3 sector), where i ( m ) = --- – 1 = ---------- – 1
I 0.45
• 1.64 = probability factor for 95% (Pa)
• 0.23 = Beta value LN(10)/10 ( β )
The first step is to calculate the mean value of the traffic loading factor, X, for the 16.3 average
voice users by using Equation 3-56 (repeated below for reference).
M 2
ν( m ) ( βσ ( m ) )
E[X] = L ( m ) × -------------- × exp βε ( m ) + --------------------- × [ ( 1 – α ( m ) ) + i ( m ) ]
PG( m ) 2
m=1
Using the input variables from the assumptions above, E[X] is calculated as follows:
2
0.56 ( ( 0.23 ) ⋅ ( 2.5 ) ) 1
E [ X ] = 16.3 × ---------- × exp ( 0.23 ) ⋅ ( 6.34 ) + --------------------------------------- × ( 1 – 0.6 ) + ---------- – 1
128 2 0.45
The next step is to calculate the variance for the traffic loading factor, X, for the 16.3 average voice
users by using Equation 3-57 (repeated below for reference).
M 2
ψ( m) + ( ν(m ) )
Var ( X ) = - × exp [ 2βε ( m ) + 2 ( βσ ( m ) ) 2 ] × [ ( 1 – α ( m ) ) + i ( m ) ]
L ( m ) × ----------------------------------
( PG( m) )
2
m=1
2
0.1 + ( 0.56 ) 2 1
Var ( X ) = 16.3 × -------------------------------- × exp [ 2 ⋅ ( 0.23 ) ( 6.34 ) + 2 ⋅ ( ( 0.23 ) ⋅ ( 2.5 ) ) ] × ( 1 – 0.6 ) + ---------- – 1
2 0.45
( 128 )
The final step is to calculate the noise rise, Z, for the 16.3 average voice users by using
Equation 3-58 (repeated below for reference).
Z = – 10 × Log 10 ( 1 – Pa × Var ( X ) – E [ X ] )
The following example calculates the noise rise for a multiple service type traffic load environment
consisting of, on average, 6 IS-2000 1X voice users at 9600 bps, 1 IS-2000 1X data user at 19200
bps, and 1 data user at 38400 bps. Additional assumptions are provided below.
Traffic Load:
6 Voice users (average) at 9600 bps
1 Data user (average) at 19200 bps
1 Data user (average) at 38400 bps
General Assumptions:
1 1
• 0.45 = I-factor (3 sector), where i ( m ) = --- – 1 = ---------- – 1
I 0.45
• 1.64 = probability factor for 95% (Pa)
• 0.23 = Beta value LN(10)/10 ( β )
The first step is to calculate the mean value of the traffic loading factor for the 6 average voice users
at 9600 bps by using Equation 3-56. Using the input variables from the assumptions above,
E[X]9600 is calculated as follows:
2
0.56 ( ( 0.23 ) ⋅ ( 2.5 ) ) 1
E [ X ] 9600 = 6 × ---------- × exp ( 0.23 ) ⋅ ( 6.34 ) + --------------------------------------- × ( 1 – 0.6 ) + ---------- – 1
128 2 0.45
Now, calculate the mean value of the traffic loading factor for the 1 average data user at 19200 bps
by using Equation 3-56. Using the input variables from the assumptions above, E[X]19200 is
calculated as follows:
2
0.9 ( ( 0.23 ) ⋅ ( 2.5 ) ) 1
E [ X ] 19200 = 1 × ------- × exp ( 0.23 ) ⋅ ( 5.69 ) + --------------------------------------- × ( 1 – 0.6 ) + ---------- – 1
64 2 0.45
Now, calculate the mean value of the traffic loading factor for the 1 average data user at 38400 bps
by using Equation 3-56. Using the input variables from the assumptions above, E[X]38400 is
calculated as follows:
2
0.9 ( ( 0.23 ) ⋅ ( 2.5 ) ) 1
E [ X ] 38400 = 1 × ------- × exp ( 0.23 ) ⋅ ( 4.94 ) + --------------------------------------- × ( 1 – 0.6 ) + ---------- – 1
32 2 0.45
Finally, calculate the total loading factor E[X]Total for all user types by summing together all of the
The next step is to calculate the variance for the traffic loading factor for the 6 average voice users
at 9600 bps by using Equation 3-57. Using the input variables from the assumptions above,
Var(X)9600 is calculated as follows:
2
0.1 + ( 0.56 ) 2 1
Var ( X ) = 6 × -------------------------------- × exp [ 2 ⋅ ( 0.23 ) ( 6.34 ) + 2 ⋅ ( ( 0.23 ) ⋅ ( 2.5 ) ) ] × ( 1 – 0.6 ) + ---------- – 1
9600 2 0.45
( 128 )
Now, calculate the variance for the traffic loading factor for the 1 average data user at 19200 bps
by using Equation 3-57. Using the input variables from the assumptions above, Var(X)19200 is
calculated as follows:
2
0.1 + ( 0.9 ) 2 1
Var ( X ) 19200 = 1 × ----------------------------- × exp [ 2 ⋅ ( 0.23 ) ( 5.69 ) + 2 ⋅ ( ( 0.23 ) ⋅ ( 2.5 ) ) ] × ( 1 – 0.6 ) + ---------- – 1
2 0.45
( 64 )
Now, calculate the variance for the traffic loading factor for the 1 average data user at 38400 bps
by using Equation 3-57. Using the input variables from the assumptions above, Var(X)38400 is
calculated as follows:
2
0.1 + ( 0.9 ) 2 1
Var ( X ) 38400 = 1 × ----------------------------- × exp [ 2 ⋅ ( 0.23 ) ( 4.94 ) + 2 ⋅ ( ( 0.23 ) ⋅ ( 2.5 ) ) ] × ( 1 – 0.6 ) + ---------- – 1
2 0.45
( 32 )
Finally, calculate the total variance Var(X)Total for all user types by summing together all of the
individual results.
The final step is to calculate the noise rise, Z, for the total traffic load using a 95% probability factor
by using Equation 3-58 (as shown below).
In order to calculate the capacity supported by the air interface in an IS-2000 1X system, it is
important to determine the values of the various factors that affect the capacity. The IS-2000 1X
forward link capacity estimates (throughput and Erlangs) provided in this document are based on
the forward link noise rise capacity estimation equations provided in Section 3.7.2 and utilizing the
parameter value assumptions that follow.
The following are the assumptions for the various IS-2000 1X parameter values to be applied to
the forward link noise rise capacity estimation equations.
For the purpose of determining capacity estimates, a 10 dB maximum noise rise value was selected.
As shown in Section 3.7.1, this 10 dB limit is de-rated to 8 dB in order to account for the overhead
channels. Additionally, each rise has a probability factor, Pa, associated with it. Table 3-11
provides some of the recommended noise rise values and probability factors used for this exercise.
Since the probability factor is associated with a normal distribution, the 50% probability factor
implies an average noise rise value. Therefore, for the scenarios where the probability factor is
greater than 50%, the average noise rise will be less than the rise value shown. This can be
illustrated further through Figure 3-12, where the 50% probability factor is associated with the
average point in the normal distribution curve. However, a higher probability factor would be
associated with a value that is greater than the average value.
The capacity tables shown in Section 3.7.4.10 provide both the capacity (in Erlangs and
throughput) and the average rise values associated with a 8 dB peak noise rise for the 90%, 95%,
and 98% probability factors. Typical RF designs should strive to keep the peak percentile
probability reverse noise rise value less than 8 dB.
Various probability factors were used in scenarios to estimate the capacity for aggressive (90%),
moderate (95%), or conservative (98%) cases. Additionally, a rise value of less than 8 dB can be
used to demonstrate the impact on capacity, in order to trade capacity for increased forward link
In all of the test cases, the cell loading is considered uniform in each sector (homogeneous network)
and as such the rise is the same across each cell. In practice, the non-homogeneous nature of cell
loading will mean that an individual cell may be able to cope with a peak load higher than the
homogeneous case.
3.7.4.2 I-factor
I-factor is the ratio of own cell interference to own cell plus other cell interference from the
subscriber perspective. The ratio of out of cell to in cell base station power received by the
subscriber is the i ( m ) parameter. The I-factor and i ( m ) parameter have the following relationship.
InCell 1 1
where I = -------------------------------------------- = ------------------------------ = ----------- or
InCell + OutCell OutCell 1 + i
1 + ---------------------
InCell
1
i = --- – 1 [EQ 3-59]
I
The terms I and i are equivalent to the terms F and f for the reverse link (see Equation 3-13), but
from a forward link subscriber perspective. For the forward link, the ratio of out of cell to in cell
base station power received by user m, i ( m ) , is dependent upon the individual user location and is
therefore different for each user.
Eb/No is defined as energy per bit to the noise spectral density. The appropriate value for the
required Eb/No is such that the desired bit, block, or frame erasure rate of the received signal is
achieved. This gives an indication of the lowest signal strength that the subscriber receiver can
detect above a certain noise level. Such items as the subscriber speed, the propagation
environment, and power control impact the required Eb/No.
The Eb/No numbers used for each data rate in this document are typical numbers that are used for
dimensioning purposes. The Eb/No values were obtained from forward link level simulations. The
In looking at Equation 3-56 and Equation 3-57 again, the number of users is inversely proportional
to the Eb/No in order to maintain the same average and variance load factor. That is, an increase in
the Eb/No will result in a decrease in the number of users. A decrease to the Eb/No will result in an
increase to the number of users.
A standard deviation of 2.5 dB on the Eb/No is assumed for each rate. This standard deviation for
the Eb/No is used to adjust the average Eb/No to compensate for imperfect power control in the real
world environment.
The number of users is inversely proportional to the Eb/No standard deviation in order to maintain
the same average and variance load factor. That is, an increase in the Eb/No standard deviation will
result in a decrease in the number of users. A decrease to the Eb/No standard deviation will result
in an increase to the number of users.
The Eb/No standard deviation has been assumed to be the same for each data rate. In a real world
situation this may not be the case, but for an estimate of the capacity (as used for this exercise), one
value has been assumed for all services.
The processing gain is the ratio of the chip rate to the bit rate. For IS-2000 1X, the chip rate is equal
to 1.2288 x 106 chips/s. The calculation of the processing gain in linear and in dB units are provided
below.
Where:
W Bandwidth (1.2288 Mcps for IS-2000 1X)
R Information rate
Recall that the Eb/No values shown in the above table were obtained from forward link level
simulations and represent typical values that are used for dimensioning purposes. The Eb/No values
will vary based on the subscriber speed, propagation conditions, percent FER, etc. For detailed
capacity and coverage results, Nokia Siemens Networks recommends using the IDGP simulation
tool. This simulation tool incorporates a family of Eb/No curves as opposed to only a few Eb/No
values.
The bearer rate data in Table 3-13 represents a data link layer rate from the subscriber’s
perspective. It does not include any overhead (RLP, framing, etc.). The bearer rates in Table 3-13
are used in the calculation of the throughput capacity (see Section 3.7.4.9).
The activity factor is defined as the percentage of time that a user transmits on an active traffic
channel. With IS-95, a typical industry accepted voice activity factor was 40%. This roughly
equated to 32% of the time the user was at full rate and 68% of the time the user was at eighth rate.
With IS-2000 1X, an adjustment to the voice activity factor of 16% is recommended to account for
the impact of the forward power control bits. Thus a 40% voice activity factor is adjusted up to
56%.
It should be noted that this adjusted activity factor (56%) is utilized in the capacity equation as a
means to derate the capacity due to the forward power control bits. In converting the voice users
to an equivalent throughput, the voice activity factor of 40% (0.4) is used.
For the capacity results provided in this section, two different data activity factors (0.9 and 0.2) are
assumed to shown the impact of a high and low data activity factor user type.
The number of users is inversely proportional to the activity factor in order to maintain the same
average and variance load factor. That is, an increase in the activity factor will result in a decrease
in the number of users. A decrease to the activity factor will result in an increase to the number of
users.
CDMA utilizes orthogonal Walsh codes to separate the multiple users or multiple channels in the
downlink. In the absence of multipath propagation, the orthogonality of the signal received by the
subscriber would be the same as that which is sent by the base station. However, since multipath
propagation can produce sufficient delay spread in the radio channel, the subscriber will see part
of the base station signal as multiple access interference.
For the capacity analysis provided in this section, an orthogonality factor of 0.6 is used for the
vehicular (30 kmph) capacity results and a value of 0.9 is used for the pedestrian (3 kmph) capacity
results. These values correspond to the ITU Vehicular A channel and ITU Pedestrian A channel
respectively.
Four different traffic mix scenarios were analyzed as reflected in the following table.
The percentage of users can be interpreted, for example, as follows. In Scenario A, 100% of the
users are voice users at 8.6 kbps. In this scenario, all users in the network are continuously
receiving the relevant voice activity and at the required signal level to reach their respective Eb/No
value. For Scenario C, 50% of the users are voice users at 8.6 kbps, 40% of the users are using 64
kbps, and the remaining 10% of the users are at 128.8 kbps.
With multiple rate high-speed data services being introduced into the call model traffic mix, the
capacity of a cell/sector should now be quantified with a throughput value in addition to the number
of Erlangs. For the capacity analysis results provided below, the estimated throughput capacity is
calculated by multiplying the bearer rate, the activity factor, and the number of supported users
(continuously transmitting users) together.
For a single data rate user example, consider scenario A with a rise of 8 dB and a probability factor
of 95% (see Table 3-15). The voice rate assumed is 8.6 kbps and as such, approximately 14.3
Erlangs at the pedestrian speed can be supported in a single sector of a 3-sectored cell. This
For a multiple data rate mixture of users, the throughput capacity is calculated for each individual
data rate user type and then summed together. For example, consider traffic mix scenario C with a
probability of 95% and a data activity factor of 20%. From the results in Table 3-15, an estimated
6.6 Erlangs at the pedestrian speed can be supported in a single sector of a 3-sectored cell with a
total throughput of 62 kbps. The traffic distribution for scenario C is 50% for 8.6 kbps voice users,
40% for 64.0 kbps data users, and 10% for 128.8 kbps data users. According to the traffic
distribution of scenario C, the throughput capacity is calculated as follows.
8.6 kbps Voice User Thruput = 8.6 kbps x 0.4 AF x (6.6 x 0.5) Erlangs = 11.4 kbps
64.0 kbps Data User Thruput = 64.0 kbps x 0.2 AF x (6.6 x 0.4) Erlangs = 33.8 kbps
128.8 kbps Data User Thruput = 128.8 kbps x 0.2 AF x (6.6 x 0.1) Erlangs = 17.0 kbps
Total Throughput = 62.2 kbps
The following two tables provide capacity values (expressed as kbps throughput and Erlangs) per
sector for the various scenarios assuming an interference rise limit of 8 dB but with varying levels
of probability. For the traffic mix scenarios which include data users (Scenarios B, C, and D),
capacity results for two different Data Activity Factors (AF) are provided. A 90% Data AF is used
to estimate the results of high data activity factor users such as a File Transfer Protocol (FTP) user.
A 20% Data AF is used to estimate the results of lower data activity factor users such as a Low
Speed Packet Data (LSPD) or a High Speed Packet Data (HSPD) user.
All of the traffic mix scenarios in Table 3-15 below assume pedestrian (3 kmph) Eb/No values with
an orthogonality factor of 0.9.
Table 3-15: Forward Capacity per Sector for Various Probabilities of Rise - Pedestrian
Scenario Rise Data Avg Rise Throughput (kbps/Sector) Erlangs/Sector
Probability AF (dB) Omni 3-Sector 6-Sector Omni 3-Sector 6-Sector
A 98% N/A 3.0 77 44 37 22.3 12.9 10.7
95% N/A 3.5 85 49 41 24.6 14.3 11.8
90% N/A 4.1 93 54 44 27.0 15.6 12.9
B 98% 90% 1.6 88 51 42 6.2 3.6 3.0
98% 20% 2.4 89 52 43 16.7 9.7 8.0
95% 90% 2.0 106 62 51 7.5 4.3 3.6
95% 20% 2.8 102 59 49 19.1 11.1 9.2
90% 90% 2.5 127 73 61 8.9 5.1 4.3
Table 3-16: Forward Capacity per Sector for Various Probabilities of Rise - Vehicle
Scenario Rise Data Avg. Rise Throughput (kbps/Sector) Erlangs/Sector
Probability AF (dB) Omni 3-Sector 6-Sector Omni 3-Sector 6-Sector
A 98% N/A 3.3 78 51 44 22.7 14.9 12.7
95% N/A 3.8 85 56 48 24.8 16.3 13.9
90% N/A 4.4 92 61 52 26.8 17.6 15.0
B 98% 90% 1.6 75 49 42 5.3 3.5 3.0
98% 20% 2.4 82 54 46 15.4 10.1 8.7
95% 90% 2.0 91 60 51 6.4 4.2 3.6
95% 20% 2.9 93 61 52 17.6 11.6 9.9
90% 90% 2.6 108 71 60 7.5 5.0 4.2
90% 20% 3.5 105 69 59 19.8 13.0 11.1
C 98% 90% 1.1 62 41 35 1.7 1.1 1.0
98% 20% 1.6 75 49 42 7.9 5.2 4.5
95% 90% 1.5 78 51 44 2.2 1.4 1.2
95% 20% 2.0 90 59 51 9.6 6.3 5.4
90% 90% 2.0 98 64 55 2.7 1.8 1.5
90% 20% 2.6 107 70 60 11.3 7.5 6.4
D 98% 90% 1.0 57 37 32 0.8 0.5 0.5
98% 20% 1.3 70 46 39 4.4 2.9 2.5
95% 90% 1.3 73 48 41 1.0 0.7 0.6
The results in Table 3-15 and Table 3-16 show the capacity estimates for an IS-2000 1X forward
link under the stated configurations, assumptions, and parameter values. As shown above, the
capacity estimate can vary greatly depending upon the parameter values that are chosen. Although
the stated assumptions and parameter values used for this exercise are deemed to be realistic, the
accuracy of the capacity estimate is highly dependent upon the accuracy of the assumptions and
parameter values used for the capacity estimate.
The following figure shows the relationship between the forward link noise rise and the throughput
for several probability curves. The input parameters used to create the figure are shown below. The
50%-ile curve corresponds to the average rise.
10
8
Noise Rise (dB)
0
0 50 100 150 200 250
Throughput (Kbps)
Note: The figure above is for demonstration purposes, as it is only valid for the assumptions
applied and for the following parameters:
Parameters:
• Traffic mix = Scenario B
• Voice activity factor = 57.6%
The following figure shows the relationship between forward link noise rise and Erlangs of various
data rates. The input parameters used to create the figure are shown below.
Figure 3-18: Forward Link Rise vs. Erlangs for Different Data Rates
10
9
8
7
Noise Rise (dB)
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
Erlangs
Voice @ 9600 Data @ 19200 Data @ 38400 Data @ 76800
Note: The figure above is for demonstration purposes, as it is only valid for the assumptions
applied and for the following parameters:
Parameters:
• Voice and data activity factor = 57.6%
• Mean square of activity factor = 0.1 dB
• I-factor = 0.45 (3-sector cell site configuration)
• Probability factor = 95%
• Vehicular (30 kmph) Eb/No assumptions from Table 3-13 were used
• Forward link orthogonality factor = 0.6 (30 kmph)
• Eb/No standard deviation = 2.5 dB
The following figure shows the relationship between the forward link total throughput and total
Erlangs with respect to the data activity factor. The input parameters used to create the figure are
shown below.
Figure 3-19: Forward Link Total Erlangs & Throughput vs. Data Activity Factor
16.0 80
14.0 70
12.0 60
10.0 50
8.0 40
6.0 30
4.0 20
2.0 10
0.0 0
10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90%
Note: The figure above is for demonstration purposes, as it is only valid for the assumptions
applied and for the following parameters:
Parameters:
• Traffic mix = Scenario B
• Peak noise rise = 8 dB
• Probability factor = 95%
• Voice activity factor = 57.6%
• Mean square of activity factor = 0.1 dB
• I-factor = 0.45 (3-sector cell site configuration)
• Vehicular (30 kmph) Eb/No assumptions from Table 3-13 were used
• Forward link orthogonality factor = 0.6 (30 kmph)
• Eb/No standard deviation = 2.5 dB
Figure 3-20 shows a comparison of the IS-2000 1X forward and reverse links for the noise rise vs.
throughput capacity results for a 95% probability factor capacity estimation.
Figure 3-20: Forward and Reverse Link Rise vs. Throughput - 95% Probability Factor
10
8
Noise RIse (dB)
0
0.0 20.0 40.0 60.0 80.0 100.0
Throughput (Kbps)
Note: The figure above is for demonstration purposes, as it is only valid for the assumptions
applied and for the following parameters:
Parameters: (unless otherwise noted, the parameters below apply to both forward and reverse links)
• Traffic mix = Scenario B
• Voice activity factor = 57.6%
• Data activity factor = 100%
• Mean square of activity factor = 0.1 dB
• F-factor or I-factor = 0.45 (3-sector cell site configuration)
• Vehicular (30 kmph) Eb/No assumptions from Table 3-6 and Table 3-13 were used
• Forward link orthogonality factor = 0.6 (30 kmph)
• Eb/No standard deviation = 2.5 dB
Figure 3-21: Forward and Reverse Link Rise vs. Erlangs for Different Data Rates
10
7
Noise Rise (dB)
0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
Erlangs
Fwd Voice @ 9600 Fwd Data @ 19200 Rev Voice @ 9600 Rev Data @ 19200
Note: The figure above is for demonstration purposes, as it is only valid for the assumptions
applied and for the following parameters:
Parameters: (unless otherwise noted, the parameters below apply to both forward and reverse links)
• Voice and data activity factor = 57.6%
• Mean square of activity factor = 0.1 dB
• F-factor or I-factor = 0.45 (3-sector cell site configuration)
• Probability factor = 95%
• Vehicular (30 kmph) Eb/No assumptions from Table 3-6 and Table 3-13 were used
• Forward link orthogonality factor = 0.6 (30 kmph)
• Eb/No standard deviation = 2.5 dB
The voice and data activity factors were purposely set to the same value in order to reflect the
capacity impact of just varying the data rate.
Figure 3-22: Forward and Reverse Link Erlangs & Thruput vs. Data Activity Factor
24.0 120
22.0
20.0 100
18.0
Throughput (Kbps)
16.0 80
Total Erlangs
14.0
12.0 60
10.0
8.0 40
6.0
4.0 20
2.0
0.0 0
90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10%
Note: The figure above is for demonstration purposes, as it is only valid for the assumptions
applied and for the following parameters:
Parameters: (unless otherwise noted, the parameters below apply to both forward and reverse links)
• Traffic mix = Scenario B
• Forward peak noise rise = 8 dB
• Reverse peak noise rise = 10 dB
• Probability factor = 95%
• Voice activity factor = 57.6%
• Mean square of activity factor = 0.1 dB
• F-factor or I-factor = 0.45 (3-sector cell site configuration)
• Vehicular (30 kmph) Eb/No assumptions from Table 3-6 and Table 3-13 were used
• Forward link orthogonality factor = 0.6 (30 kmph)
• Eb/No standard deviation = 2.5 dB
The results from all of the figures (Figure 3-20, Figure 3-21, and Figure 3-22) above, show the
forward link with less capacity than the reverse link. In a general sense, the forward link may have
less capacity than the reverse link, but the difference between the two may not be as wide as
depicted in the figures above. Keep in mind that utilizing different assumptions and parameters
For example, Figure 3-23 shows a comparison of the IS-2000 1X forward and reverse links for
Erlangs and throughput capacity vs. data activity factor using the following parameter changes
mentioned below the figure.
Figure 3-23: Alternate Forward and Reverse Link Erlangs & Thruput vs. Data Activity Factor
24.0 120
22.0
20.0 100
18.0
Throughput (Kbps)
16.0 80
Total Erlangs
14.0
12.0 60
10.0
8.0 40
6.0
4.0 20
2.0
0.0 0
90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10%
Note: The figure above is for demonstration purposes, as it is only valid for the assumptions
applied and for the following parameters:
Parameters: (All of the parameters for Figure 3-22 were used, except for the following changes)
• Forward Eb/No @ 9600 = 4.4 dB (Figure 3-22 utilized a value of 6.34 dB)
• Forward Eb/No @ 76800 = 3.3 dB (Figure 3-22 utilized a value of 4.53 dB)
• Forward link orthogonality factor = 0.7 (Figure 3-22 utilized a value of 0.6)
The results in Figure 3-23 show that the forward link capacity is now equal to or slightly better than
that of the reverse link. It is important to note that the parameter changes stated above are realistic
parameters to use to model certain propagation environments (i.e. depending upon the multipath,
ray imbalance, and geometry environment). Although the forward link may have a higher capacity
than that of the reverse link (similar to the results in Figure 3-23) in some areas of a system, the
general expectation is that the forward link will be the limiting factor from a capacity perspective
(similar to the results in Figure 3-22, but maybe not as wide of a gap). Which link will be the
limiting factor from a capacity perspective will depend upon the assumptions and parameter values
used for a particular system analysis. As stated previously, the accuracy of the capacity estimate is
highly dependent upon the accuracy of the assumptions and parameter values used for the capacity
estimate.
The CDMA RF Air Interface specifications defines the structure of the Forward and Reverse
Channel. These specifications place an upper limitation on the number of channels that can be
served by a CDMA frequency. The following sections provide Forward and Reverse Channel
structure overviews for both IS-95 and IS-2000 Air Interface specifications.
The following figure shows an example of the code channels transmitted by a base station. Out of
the 64 code channels available for use, the example depicts the Pilot Channel (always required),
one Sync Channel, seven Paging Channels (the maximum allowed), and fifty-five Traffic
Channels.
Code channels on the forward link are addressed by different Walsh codes. Each of these code
channels is spread by the appropriate Pseudo-Noise Sequence at a fixed Chip Rate of 1.2288 Mega-
Chips per second. The uniqueness of the forward channel structure is the use of the Pilot Channel.
It is transmitted by each cell site and is used as a coherent carrier reference for demodulation by all
subscriber stations. The pilot signal is unmodulated and uses the zeroth Walsh code which consists
of 64 zeros. Hence, the pilot simply contains the I and Q spreading code. The choice of this code
allows the subscriber to acquire the system faster. The Walsh codes are generated with a 64 x 64
Hadamard Matrix. Thus, the maximum number of code channels per carrier is 64 which consists
of a Pilot Channel, a Sync Channel, a maximum of 7 Paging Channels and a minimum of 55 Traffic
Channels (TCH). In view of the channel structure, a 1.23 MHz CDMA carrier can support up to 55
TCHs if the effect of interference is not considered. Another possible configuration could replace
The CDMA equipment requires a carrier frequency, a pilot offset, and a Walsh code to encode/
decode the channel. The Base Station System (BSS) allocates a Traffic Channel in response to the
Assignment Request message from the MSC. The BSS does not allocate traffic channels unless a
request from the MSC is acknowledged. The Traffic Channel will be allocated in the sector with
which the call is associated.
The BSS maintains a pool of Traffic Channels and Walsh codes in each sector for new call setups
and soft/softer handoffs. Traffic Channel allocation for new originations and soft handoffs require
an assignment of a physical Traffic Channel and a Walsh code. Softer handoff requires just the
assignment of a Walsh code, no new Traffic Channel element has to be assigned. The assignment
of Walsh codes and Traffic Channels is separated to allow the allocation process to adjust for the
different needs of soft and softer handoff. In order to reduce the risk of soft/softer handoff
assignment failure during the conversation, the BSS denies assignment of Traffic Channels and
Walsh codes for new call setups if Traffic Channels or Walsh codes are not available or being used
for soft/softer handoffs.
The number of Traffic Channels is defined by the In-Service Hardware in the BSS. It could be less
than the number configured if some of the hardware is out of service. The number of Walsh codes
assigned to a sector is set to 64 which is the maximum specified by the EIA/TIA standard. Limiting
the number of Walsh codes in a sector is a method of controlling service quality. Since Walsh codes
are not associated with any hardware, they cannot go out of service. As a result, 64 is the hard limit
of the number of code channels per sector according to the protocol specifications.
The Reverse CDMA Channel is composed of Access Channels and Reverse Traffic Channels.
These channels share the same CDMA frequency assignment. Each Traffic Channel is identified
by a distinct user long code sequence and each Access Channel is identified by a distinct Access
Channel long code sequence. The following figure shows as example of the signals received by a
base station on the Reverse CDMA Channel.
The reverse link employs the same 32768 length binary short PN sequences which are used for the
forward link. However, unlike on the forward link, a fixed code phase offset is used. A long PN
sequence (242-1) with a user-determined time offset is used to identify the subscriber (analogous
to ESN in AMPS). The sequence is then modulo-2 added with a 42 bit wide mask.
The subscriber unit convolutionally encodes the data transmitted on the Reverse Traffic Channel
and the Access Channel prior to interleaving. The transmitted digital information is convolutional
encoded using a rate 1/3 code of constraint length 9 for the Access Channel and for Rate Set 1 of
the Reverse Traffic Channel. For Rate Set 2 of the Reverse Traffic Channel, the convolutional code
rate is 1/2. The encoded information is then interleaved over a 20 ms interval. The interleaved
information is then grouped in code words which consist of 6 symbol groups each. These code
words are used to select one of the 64 orthogonal Walsh codes for transmission. On the reverse link,
the Walsh codes are used for information transmission. The reverse CDMA frequency channel can
support up to 62 TCHs per Paging Channel and 32 Access Channels per Paging Channel.
Support for IS-2000 was first introduced in Release 16. The following figure shows the Forward
Channel Structure for IS-2000.
Common
Pilot Common Paging Dedicated Common
Channels Channels Channels Channels
Common Assignment
Channel
= Channels NOT implemented in Current or Prior [F-CACH]
CBSC Releases
The Common Assignment, Common Power Control, Common Control, and Broadcast Channels
are not implemented in current or prior CBSC Releases. In the Common Pilot Channels, only the
Forward Pilot Channel is implemented for CBSC Release 16 through the current release. The
following sections provide a brief description of the forward channels that are supported for CBSC
Release 16 through the current release.
Prior to the occurrence of the Quick Paging/Paging slot, the Access/Paging MCC determines the
Paging Indicator bits based on the page messages found which support Quick Paging. It buffers the
bits and transmits them when the Quick Paging Channel slot begins. As shown in Figure 3-27,
approximately 20ms after the QPCH slot, the associated paging messages are transmitted on the
Paging Channel. The Access/Paging MCC schedules only those page messages which have been
quick paged on the QPCH slot which occurred 100ms prior to this PCH slot as shown in the figure.
Each paging indication is a single bit at a data rate of 4800 bps or 2400 bps. The effective rate is
9600 bps or 4800 bps, respectively as each bit is sent twice (time diversity).
The base station enables the Configuration Change Indicators in each QPCH slot for a period of
0 1 2 3
20ms 20ms
Configuration
Change Indicators
The following table briefly explains the Radio Configurations (RC) supported by the forward link
in IS-2000 for Spreading Rates (SR) 1 and 3.
Nokia Siemens Networks IS-2000 BSS Implementation for CBSC Release 16 Through the
Current Release
The following table provides the forward link Radio Configuration and data rates that are
supported with CBSC Release 16 through the current release.
Table 3-18: Forward Link Radio Configuration Support for CBSC Release 16 Through the
Current Release
The maximum data rate (153.6 kbps) supported on the forward link is obtained by utilizing RC 3
or RC 4. As shown above, RC 4 requires half as many CE resources compared to RC 3 to support
the maximum data rate.
Unlike IS-95A/B, the number of Walsh codes is not hard limited to 64 in IS-2000. To increase the
number of usable Walsh codes, Complex or QPSK modulation is employed where 2 information
bits are mapped into a QPSK symbol. Using the same coding rate, this method allows for an
increase in the number of Walsh codes by a factor of 2 relative to BPSK, thereby allowing longer
Walsh codes (i.e. 128 for RC 4, instead of 64). Implementing QPSK modulation, also allows
doubling the original data rate on the same available bandwidth.
A Supplemental Channel in IS-2000 is designed to reach data rates up to 1,036,800 bps on a single
RF carrier (refer to Section 3.9.3.2 above for the data rates supported by Nokia Siemens
Networks). With the code chip rate fixed at 1228800 chips/sec, the length of the Walsh code
spreading must be substantially reduced to achieve the high data rates.
The variable length Walsh code implementation can be visualized as shown in Figure 3-28. As
seen in Figure 3-28, codes on different levels of the tree have different Walsh code lengths. The
new levels in the tree are constructed by concatenating a root code word with a replica or an inverse
of itself generating a long code word. During spreading, each bit is multiplied by an entire code
word and longer codes are associated with lower bit rates. The root code word (which is shorter in
length) is not guaranteed to be orthogonal to the derived long code words. The short code word is
modulated exactly as the long code word is built and hence there is no way to differentiate the
signals. Thus, if a root code is assigned to a certain user, then the derivative code words (the
branches of the tree structure) should not be used because they are not orthogonal to the root code.
Thus assigning a Walsh code at a particular rate will make some higher rate codes and some of the
lower rate codes unavailable for assignment.
In this scenario if Walsh code C2,1 is assigned at a particular rate, Walsh codes C4,1 and C4,2 are
not orthogonal to C2,1and hence they should not be assigned. At each level, all the code words are
the rows of a Hadamard matrix.
C1,1=(1,1) C8,4=(1,1,-1,-1,-1,-1,1,1)
1
C8,5=(1,-1,1,-1,1,-1,1,-1)
C4,3=(1,-1,1,-1)
C8,6=(1,-1,1,-1,-1,1,-1,1)
C2,2=(1,-1)
C8,7=(1,-1,-1,1,1,-1,-1,1)
C4,4=(1,-1,-1,1)
C8,8=(1,-1,-1,1,-1,1,1,-1)
Nokia Siemens Networks IS-2000 BSS Implementation for Release 16 Through the Current
Release
For the multiple data rates achieved with the CBSC Release 16 through the current release
implementations, a maximum data rate of 153,600 bps is achieved with one F-SCH. A Walsh code
allocation tree with a 153,600 bps maximum data rate is shown in Figure 3-29.
As seen in the figure, assigning a Walsh code at a particular rate would make some higher rate
codes as well as lower rate codes unorthogonal and unavailable for assignment. WC0, WC1, and
WC32 are reserved for Pilot, Page, and Sync channels respectively. The figure shows the number
of Walsh codes available for each of the multiple data rates that CBSC Release 16 through the
current release supports. The "X" on some of the higher and lower data rate Walsh codes indicates
that they are unavailable or reserved due to the Pilot, Page, and Sync Walsh code allocations.
X
153.6 kbps
X
76.8 kbps
X
38.4 kbps
X
19.2 kbps
9.6 kbps
WC32 WC0
WC1
Shorter length Walsh codes limit the number of simultaneous users in the forward link, because of
the smaller Walsh code set. If the remaining two high rate (153,600 bps) Walsh codes are also
assigned to data users as shown in Figure 3-30, all of the lower rate Walsh codes below those codes
become unavailable (shaded Walsh codes). In this scenario, only 29 Walsh codes are available for
voice call assignments (9600 bps) as seen in Figure 3-30 below.
X
153.6 kbps
X
X
76.8 kbps
X
38.4 kbps X
X
19.2 kbps
9.6 kbps
WC32 WC0
WC1
The following figure shows the Reverse Channel Structure for IS-2000.
Common
Access Control Traffic Channels Traffic Channels
Channels Channels (RC 1, RC 2) (RC 3-6)
Dedicated Control
Channel (0 or 1)
= Channels NOT implemented in CBSC Release 16 [R-DCCH]
tthrough the current release
The Reverse link in IS-2000 essentially consists of three new channels. They are Pilot,
Supplemental, and Dedicated Control Channels, in addition to the IS-95A/B Access and
Fundamental Channels. The following sections provide a brief description of the reverse channels
that are supported for CBSC Release 16 through the current release.
The following table briefly explains the Radio Configurations (RC) supported by the reverse link
in IS-2000 for Spreading Rates (SR) 1 and 3.
Nokia Siemens Networks IS-2000 BSS Implementation for CBSC Release 16 Through the
Current Release
The following table provides the reverse link Radio Configuration and data rates that are supported
with CBSC Release 16 through the current release.
Table 3-21: Reverse Link Radio Configuration Support for CBSC Release 16 Through the
Current Release
The following table shows the number of channel element resources that are required for the
various data rates for RC 3.
The maximum data rate (153.6 kbps) supported on the reverse link is with RC 3.
3.10 Handoffs
The new IS-2000 air interface provides the ability to handoff voice and data calls, as well as other
services from an IS-95 system to an IS-2000 system and from an IS-2000 system to an IS-95
system. The following handoff methods are supported in both IS-95 and IS-2000 systems:
A soft handoff is a handoff in which a new base transceiver station (BTS) commences
communications with the subscriber station without interrupting the communications from the old
BTS. The BTS can direct the subscriber station to perform a soft handoff only when all Forward
Traffic Channels assigned to the subscriber station have identical frequency assignments. When
performing a soft handoff, the subscriber collects the signal-to-noise ratio (pilot Ec/Io) received
from each active sector on the downlink along with all candidate sectors. Each active BTS that
receives the uplink transmission from the subscriber will relay it to the transcoder (XC). The XC
will make the final decision on the eligibility of candidates and the handoff will proceed. While in
The soft handoff factor (SHOF) is used to determine the overhead Erlangs to support different
kinds of soft handoffs. The factor is likely to vary from 1.3 to 2.0. It should be noted that the soft
handoff factor defined here is a linear scaling factor of the actual usable Erlangs but not the number
of traffic channels.
where:
• 2-way soft handoff fraction, a = Average 2-way soft handoff duration per hold time
• 3-way soft handoff fraction, b = Average 3-way soft handoff duration per hold time
Inter-CBSC Soft Handoff (ICBSC-SHO) happens when the subscriber communicates with sectors
of different BTSs and the BTSs are controlled by different CBSCs. In a Nokia Siemens Networks
system, when the subscriber reports a handoff pilot that refers to an external sector database that
has inter-CBSC soft handoffs enabled, the call goes into inter-CBSC soft handoff. In this case, the
external sector can reside in the source CBSC or can be backhauled from the target CBSC. The
source CBSC remains in control of the call until no source handoff legs remain, then control is
transferred to the target CBSC by a Anchor Handoff (which is a form of a hard handoff).
Hard Handoffs take place during all "break before make" handoff situations. In an IS-95 and/or IS-
2000 system, hard handoffs can be represented by a change from one radio configuration to
another, or when a multi-mode subscriber station transitions from CDMA operation to operation
on an analog system. In a Nokia Siemens Networks system, hard handoffs which result in the
subscriber being supported by a new PDSN will cause the connection to the old PDSN to be
dropped. The subscriber must then initiate a new PPP session as well as an IP registration following
a hard handoff.
Anchor Handoffs are handoffs triggered when a subscriber is in Inter-CBSC soft handoff, and a set
of criteria have been met within the database. When the criteria are met (typically no source CBSC
handoff legs are active), the target CBSC determines the current strongest Inter-CBSC soft handoff
sector and initiates a hard handoff to that sector. The source CBSC maintains control of the call
until the criteria is met, then control is transferred to the target CBSC resulting in a change in Walsh
codes.
Hand-up from IS-95 to IS-2000 happens when an IS-2000 capable subscriber station is directed
An IS-2000 to IS-95 hand-down happens when an IS-2000 capable subscriber station is assigned
to an IS-2000 channel in the source BTS, and the target BTS has assigned an IS-95 channel. In a
Nokia Siemens Networks system, the MM checks the Radio Configuration Class capability of the
current sector against the candidate sector. If the candidate sector supports a lower Radio
Configuration Class, the MM can pick a channel element with a lower Radio Configuration that is
supported by the subscriber. The subscriber would then hand down to the IS-95 channel. An
example of this is when the call starts out on an IS-2000 channel with RC 3 radio resources and the
subscriber wishes to handoff to a BTS that does not have IS-2000 resources available. The MM
could decide to perform a hard handoff and hand the subscriber down from IS-2000 to IS-95. As
part of this handoff process, the source radio channel is also handed down to IS-95. Decreasing the
call to a lower Radio Configuration Class is referred to as a hand-down.
In a Nokia Siemens Networks system, when the base station determines that a Hard Handoff is
required for a packet data call, the base station will transition a packet data call into dormant mode
by initiating a call release. During the release procedure the base station sends the subscriber a
Service Option Control message indicating the minimum amount of time the subscriber must wait
before trying to transfer the packet data. The subscriber will attempt to access the system again
using the best serving cell. Once access has been granted, the subscriber will resume the transfer
of the packet data.
It is important to note that the site estimates provided in this section are for budgetary purposes
only. Many other issues such as cell coverage, cell location, antenna configurations, unique traffic
call models (voice and data), etc. have to be taken into consideration for an actual system design.
It is recommended that simulations be performed using a tool like Nokia Siemens Networks’
Intelligent Design and Growth Planning (IDGP) for CDMA tool (see Section 3.12) before
finalizing a system design.
This example illustrates the case that the cellular operator decides to deploy a single carrier CDMA
system and allocate 1.8 MHz (including the guard band) out of the 12.5 MHz cellular band for
CDMA deployment. The system shall be designed to provide service to 40,000 new CDMA
subscribers. Prior to the design of the system, information concerning the propagation environment
and subscriber distribution has to be gathered for each particular service area.
Prior to the design of an IS-95 voice only system, the propagation parameters and the subscriber
profile must be available. This section is intended to give an overview of some important
parameters and the correct way to apply them to system design. A completed example follows.
Busy hour is defined as the continuous one hour period in the day during which the highest average
traffic density is experienced by the system. Busy Hour Call Attempts (BHCA) is the number of
call setup requests during the busy hour. Busy Hour Call Completion (BHCC) is the portion of the
requests which succeed in making it to the conversation state.
Holding time is defined as the average length of time an active user occupies a traffic channel.
An Erlang is the traffic intensity of a traffic channel which is continuously occupied. Erlang per
subscriber is the product of BHCA per subscriber and the average holding time per access.
NORTHWEST
SUBURBS
UPTOWN
AREA
WEST CHICAGO
SUBURBS DOWNTOWN
SOUTHWEST
SUBURBS
SOUTH
SUBURBS
BHCA per
Subscriber Environment
Area subscriber
Distribution Classifications
System Parameters:
Assumptions:
1. Each subscriber’s required energy per bit-to-interference density ratio (Eb/Io) is varied
according to propagation conditions to achieve the specified FER of 0.01
2. All the sectors support the same number of subscribers.
3. The subscribers are uniformly distributed over each sector.
4. There is no overflow from the CDMA network to the AMPS network
5. There are 40,000 subscribers distributed across the system as shown in Table 3-23.
6. The Average Hold time per Access is 65 seconds.
7. The path loss slope for a dense urban environment of 32.8 dB/decade is assumed with a
shadowing standard deviation of 7.7 dB.
8. The path loss slope for an urban environment of 38.4 dB/decade is assumed with a
shadowing standard deviation of 8 dB.
9. 40% of the subscribers will be in soft handoff between two or more sites.
10. The sectorization improvement going from a single sector to three sectors is 2.4 times.
These results in addition to following are approximations based on the curves and the assumptions
which went into generating the curves. Actual system designs will vary from system to system.
For Area 1,
For Area 2,
Using a sectorization gain of 2.45 for a three sector CDMA site, a total of 20 sector cells are
required for area 1. Propagation studies have to be performed to determine if the system is coverage
limited as opposed to capacity limited. If the number of sector cell sites required in this case for
coverage is larger than 20 (the system is coverage limited), the system should be designed based
on the number of cell sites required for coverage. Propagation studies could be a detailed system
wide simulation or a simple link budget analysis based on certain well-known propagation model
such as the Okumura Model or the Hata Model (depending on the degree of accuracy required).
By the same method, the calculation of the other areas is summarized in following table:
It is up to the system designer to determine how to balance these parameters to best serve a
particular area. The best balance point will change from cell site to cell site depending on where
that cell site is located in the system or the design objectives. Sites in dense downtown areas will
trade off coverage for capacity. Conversely, cell sites at the edges of a system could sacrifice
capacity for additional coverage.
The capacity of a CDMA site and system is dependent upon many factors which can be unique
from one system to the next. Some of these factors that have an impact to both IS-95 and IS-2000
1X systems are:
• Propagation loss (path loss slope, log normal fading, antenna types)
• Amount of delay spread in the environment
• Terrain and clutter environment
• Traffic distribution of the subscribers
• Speed distribution of the subscribers
• Voice/data call models and activity factors
• Soft and softer handoff factors
• Channel power settings (Pilot, Page, Sync, FCH, SCH, etc.)
• Environmental characteristics (noise, interference from other services, etc.)
• Level of reliability
• Quantity and placement of sites, in addition to the amount of cell overlap
For IS-2000 1X, the dimensioning of a complex traffic model with variable data rates, which
supports both circuit voice call models and packet data call models, creates a new challenge in
capacity design. In IS-95 and IS-2000 1X, voice calls are handled by allocating dedicated channels.
For IS-95B, data calls use dedicated supplemental code channels, but for IS-2000 1X, data calls
employ shared supplemental channels. Therefore, the IS-2000 1X channel structure assures
efficient use of the supplemental channels.
Various formulas can be used, dependent upon the level of complexity and accuracy desired, to
estimate the capacity of a site. The more accurate calculations will require more time to perform
or many simulations executed to obtain results which are statistically and reasonably valid. Due to
the variability of the many different factors mentioned above, there is no single capacity number,
but a range of values over an environment. The forward and reverse link capacity estimation
equations provided in this chapter can only be used as an approximation of capacity of the system
and should be used for budgetary purposes only. They do not take into account the size of the cell
or the spacing between the sites. These equations do not totally account for the benefits of soft
The IDGP CDMA Simulator incorporates IS-2000 1X parameters to perform non time-sliced
simulations. Non time-sliced simulations utilize a simulation technique where all of the dropped
subscribers are actively bursting (although the power is adjusted according to an activity factor) at
simulation time, and data rates assigned according to available capacity. The NetPlan tool, no
longer supported, can be used for performing time-sliced simulations. For time-sliced simulations,
data subscribers are modeled according to a dynamic source model, which employs a State
machine consisting of the Reverse Request State, Server Delay State, Forward Reference or
Download State, Think State, and Dormant State.
Various path loss models (statistical and deterministic) may be used by the simulator to aid in
defining the CDMA coverage area. Each path loss model has its benefits and disadvantages. While
most statistical models, such as Hata, do not consider terrain variation, they do allow for quick
budgetary simulations. The Xlos propagation model incorporates terrain variation, antenna pattern,
overlay (clutter) data, etc., in an attempt to model actual installations. The location of the CDMA
subscriber units within a system will greatly affect total system capacity, coverage and quality, as
well as the achieved data rate and distribution of resources. Subscriber positioning may be uniform
or may be more accurately modeled with a subscriber traffic map.
In essence, the IDGP CDMA Simulator is a tool to layout a DS-CDMA system resulting in
information on predicted capacity, required system parameter values, system quality, predicted
coverage and hardware loading information. It permits investigations into real cellular system
concerns such as edge effects, propagation anomalies, antenna types, subscriber distribution, call
quality, receiver sensitivity impact on capacity, interference mitigation, power control and
handoffs. It provides statistical information for the cell, and end-user. Cell statistics include the
number of blocked subscribers due to unavailable Walsh codes, good subscriber percentage, total
TCH power per data rate, forward and reverse SCH data rate, sector throughput and end user
throughput, just to name a few. Because of CDMA system complexity and the inter-dependence
between coverage, capacity and quality, it is only when these properties are considered together
that a system representation with a higher degree of accuracy can be developed.
3.13 References
1. R.H. Owen, Phil Jones, Shirin Dehgan, Dave Lister, "Uplink WCDMA capacity and
range as a function of inter-to-intra cell interference: theory and practice", pp. 298-302,
VTC 2000.
7. Charles Noblet, Ray Owen, Simon Burley, Allan Bartlett, “UMTS Network
Dimensioning From Theory to Simulations”, version 1.00
9. H. Holma & A. Toskala, "WCDMA for UMTS", John Wiley & Sons, Ltd, Copyright
2000, pp. 163-167.
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The CDMA system design process consists primarily of three levels or phases. These levels range
from an initial budgetary design to a final design used to implement the system. The amount of
time and effort required to complete a design increases as the design process moves from a
budgetary design to a final design. However, this additional time and effort results in a more
accurate system design.
The first level of the design process is a budgetary level. It uses the RF link budget along with a
statistical propagation model (such as Hata or COST-231 Hata) to estimate the coverage of the sites
and ultimately determine how many sites are required for the particular system. This type of
propagation model has a slope and intercept value for each type of environment (Urban, Suburban,
Open, etc.) and does not include terrain effects. This relatively simplistic approach allows for a
quick analysis of the number of sites that may be required to cover a given area.
The next level of a system design requires a more detailed propagation model. This propagation
model takes into account the characteristics of the selected antenna, the terrain, and the land use
and land clutter surrounding the site. Since these factors are accounted for, this propagation model
will determine a better estimate of the coverage of the sites than the previous statistical propagation
model. Thus, its use, in conjunction with the RF link budget, produces a more accurate
determination of the number of cells required. This second level of the design process uses the
reverse RF link budget to assist in determining the required propagation path loss. Nokia Siemens
Networks uses the Intelligent Design and Growth Planning (IDGP) tool for this portion of the
design process.
However to complete a system design, the forward link must also be analyzed to determine power
settings and pilot coverage. The forward RF link budget consists of many variables including
subscriber speed, location, soft handoff, noise figure, voice activity, and pilot range. It is
recommended that a simulation be used to analyze the forward link by accounting for the statistical
variation in these parameters. Such simulator studies are part of the final design phase.
The final level or phase of the design process incorporates further detail into the design by the use
of simulation studies. Nokia Siemens Networks uses the IDGP CDMA Simulator for this analysis.
The simulation studies account for subscriber distributions within a coverage area and also for
CDMA system and site level parameters. The simulator analyzes both the forward and the reverse
links. This final design process is required in the deployment of a system or in determining
warranty coverage.
The one element common to all three levels of a system design is the RF link budget. The following
There are two main purposes for establishing the RF link budget for CDMA designs. The first
purpose is to establish system design assumptions for all of the gains and losses in the RF path
(such as vehicle loss, building loss, ambient noise margin, maximum subscriber transmit power,
etc.). The second purpose of a link budget is to establish an estimate for maximum allowable path
loss. This maximum allowable path loss number is used in conjunction with the propagation model
to estimate cell site coverage, which ultimately determines the number of cells required for
adequate system RF signal coverage and hence the system cost. Figure 4-1 shows the impact to the
quantity of sites required due to changes in the RF link budget. For example, if the RF link budget
(maximum allowable path loss) was improved by 5 dB, approximately half the number of sites
would be required.
The above figure is derived using the COST 231 Hata Suburban propagation model. Other models
may differ slightly from this. This figure can be utilized as a quick aid to help quantify the number
of sites required based upon a change made to the RF link budget. It should be pointed out that
other environmental factors may contribute to the above not holding true. For instance, in a very
hilly terrain location, dB improvements may not provide for extra range if the terrain is blocking
the propagation.
The system designer will need to determine the specific RF link budget parameters to be used when
designing the system. The parameters within the RF link budget can be divided into four major
1. Propagation related
• Building Loss
• Vehicle Loss
• Body Loss
• Ambient Noise
• RF Feeder Losses
• Antenna Gain
2. CDMA specific
• Interference Noise Rise (other users)
• Eb/No
• Processing Gain (ratio of bandwidth to data rate)
3. Product specific
• Product Transmit Power
• Product Receiver Sensitivity
4. Reliability
• Shadow Fade Margin
The following figure shows the typical gains and losses that are encountered in the RF link.
Subscriber Tx Power
Sub. Subscriber Rx Sensitivity
Subscriber Line Loss
Subscriber Antenna Gain
Body Loss
Vehicle Loss
Building Loss RF
Man-made Noise Gains
&
RF Path Loss Losses
Shadow Fade Margin (Reliability)
BTS Antenna Gain
Transmission Line Loss
Jumpers & Connector Loss
BTS Tx Power
BTS BTS Rx Sensitivity
A RF link budget must be determined for each sector of each site. The RF link budget for each
sector must incorporate any specific parameters that have been supplied (such as building
CDMA RF link budgets may make simplifying assumptions regarding noise rise and Eb/No
requirements. For instance, in the RF link budget, the Eb/No value is considered a constant. In
actuality, Eb/No is not a constant value but varies with respect to speed, delay spread and other
factors. Some of the simplifying assumptions are addressed in the detailed design phase.
Propagation related parameters are those gains or losses of a link budget that are constant,
independent of the multiple access technology chosen or vendor. The values of these parameters,
though, are frequency dependent (i.e. differences would exist between an 800 MHz design and a
1900 MHz design or between a mobile and a fixed environment). These parameters include such
factors as: building loss, vehicle loss, body loss, man-made noise margin, RF feeder losses, and
antennas. If comparing link budget information between vendors, these propagation related
parameters should be set the same so as to obtain a realistic comparison.
Building loss is associated with the degradation of the RF signal strength caused by a building
structure, when a subscriber handset operating within a building is communicating with a base
station. An adequate RF signal strength within a building can be accomplished in one of two ways.
One method involves the propagation scenario, where a base station located outdoors
communicates with a subscriber unit that is inside a building (see Figure 4-3). The second method
involves the propagation scenario, where both the base station and the subscriber unit are within
the same building.
INTO WITHIN
Propagation Scenario where a base Propagation Scenario where both
station communicates with a radio the transmitter and receiver are
transceiver that is inside a building. within the same building.
One approach for modeling the “into” building penetration is as an extension of an outdoor
propagation model. This method uses a distance-dependent path loss for a subscriber unit that is
outside a building, and adds a building loss factor.
This typical approach adds building loss factor to the macro cell link budget. This building loss is
highly variable and is a function of such items as: construction material, building layout, user
location inside the building, proximity to the base station, and direction from the base station.
Building losses can range anywhere from 5 to 40 dB or more. If actual field data is not available
for a given area, a value of building penetration may be assumed. The following table of values can
be used for a mobile design as a possible guideline in the absence of field data for the particular
environment:
Table 4-1: Example Building Penetration Losses (800 & 1900 MHz)
Environment Penetration Loss
Dense Urban 20 dB
Urban 15 dB
Suburban 10 dB
Rural 8 dB
This table of building losses represents the average difference in RF signal strength between the
outside environment and numerous points throughout the inside of the building.
Another approach is that radio transmission into buildings should be undertaken separately and not
as an extension of the outdoor propagation models plus the building loss factor. Besides the
antenna heights and path length, the floor area, number of rooms on the floor, angle of illumination
of the building to the base station and the construction of the walls should be considered when
trying to determine a new propagation model. This approached is not addressed in this planning
guide.
For a fixed system, the subscriber unit is not moving around inside the building but is instead fixed
to a position. Since the Fixed Wireless Terminal (FWT) unit is stationary, the installation should
be in a position that allows for the best signal to be received from the base station. The preferred
installation is to have the FWT with its whip antenna located near a window, preferably on the side
of the building closest to the base station. This would minimize the loss required for the signal to
penetrate into the building. In addition, the preferred FWT location would have it being mounted
above desk height. If this optimum location is achieved, the building loss will be minimized.
Careful placement of the fixed wireless terminal’s antenna near a window could reduce the
building loss value down to a 3 to 6 dB value. The following figure shows the preferred location
of the FWT with whip antennas. Refer to the FWT vendor to determine the recommendations of
the FWT placement.
Better
Reception
Install FWT near window
that faces the general
direction of the cell site.
Good
Reception
There are numerous papers that exist which describe building penetration losses. The papers cover
many different factors that affect building loss such as: height of base station antennas, angle of
illumination to the building, differing heights of buildings, various building constructions, and the
impact of frequency on building loss. Some of these papers are contradictory. For example, a paper
by Turkmani1 2 concluded that building penetration losses decrease with an increase in frequency.
On the other hand, Aguirre3 reached the conclusion that higher penetration losses were
experienced at higher frequencies. It should be pointed out that Turkmani’s study had antennas
above the rooftop, whereas Aguirre’s study had antennas below the rooftop.
Due to the differences in the papers, an assumption for building penetration loss can be made by
utilizing the results that are from a test case more in line with how the operator plans to provide for
the building penetration.
As the floors of a building are ascended, the relative signal strength increases. This effect is usually
attributed to the increased probability of line of site propagation between the higher floors of the
building and the base site. This is commonly referred to as a height gain per floor. This height gain
can effectively reduce the building loss by approximately 1.3 to 2 dB per floor. Since the normal
design is for a worst case scenario, the height gain would not be considered unless the particular
design is to provide coverage only to a given floor(s).
1. Turkmani, Parsons and Lewis, "Measurement of building penetration loss on radio signals at 441, 900 and
1400 MHz", Journal of the Institution of Electronic and Radio Engineers, Vol. 58, No. 6 (Supplement), pp.
S169-S174, September-December 1988
2. Turkmani and Toledo, "Modelling of radio transmissions into and within multistory buildings at 900, 1800
and 2300 MHz", IEEE Proceedings-I, Vol. 140, No. 6, December 1993
3. Aguirre, "Radio Propagation Into Buildings at 912, 1920, and 5990 MHz Using Microcells", 0-7803-1823-
4/94 IEEE, session 1.6 & 1.7, pp. 129-134
Vehicle loss is the degradation of the RF signal strength caused by a vehicular enclosure. A
subscriber handset communicating to a cell site from within a vehicle will have a lower signal
strength than if that same subscriber unit was operating outside of the vehicle. Vehicle loss has
been seen to range from 5 to 12 dB. If the design for a system is to include a vehicle penetration
loss, an average range is approximately 5 to 8 dB.
Due to the nature of a fixed system, vehicle loss should not be accounted for.
Body loss, also referred to as head loss, is the degradation of the RF signal strength due to the close
proximity of the subscriber handset antenna to the person’s body. A 2 dB loss is associated with
the antenna in a vertical position; 6 dB is associated with the antenna in a horizontal position. It is
assumed that the typical user will rotate the phone or move slightly to help improve the quality of
the call. Therefore, a lower body loss of 2 to 3 dB is often used in system designs.
For a fixed system, there will be no body loss since the FWT antenna is either connected directly
to the FWT or is installed outdoors.
The ambient noise defines the environmental noise that is in excess of kTB for the sector. This
noise could be generated from automobiles, factories, machinery, and other man-made noise. The
ambient noise margin parameter can be added to the link budget to allow for an adjustment to the
thermal noise value. Since each environment is unique, a noise floor study should be performed to
determine if an adjustment is required to the theoretical thermal noise floor value.
Man-made noise is less significant at 1900 MHz than at 800 MHz. Also, galactic or sky noise is at
a minimum.4
RF feeder losses include all of the losses that are encountered between the base station cabinet and
the base antenna, or with respect to a subscriber unit, all of the losses between the PA and the
antenna. Since a majority of subscriber units for a mobility system being sold to customers are
portable, there is minimal feeder loss; therefore, RF feeder loss at the subscriber unit is not
considered in the link budget. However, the feeder loss at the base site can account for several dB
of loss. The example RF link budgets provided in Table 4-6 and Table 4-7 only reflect the line loss
at the base site.
For a fixed system, the Fixed Wireless Terminal (FWT) may have an antenna connected directly
to the unit or the antenna may be installed on the outside of the building, thus requiring a
4. Lee, William C.Y. "Mobile Communications Engineering", Copyright 1982, McGraw-Hill Inc. pg. 33-40.
The base station RF feeder line loss calculations include such losses as: top jumper, main
transmission line, bottom jumper, lightning arrestors (surge protector), connectors, duplexers,
splitters, combiners, and couplers (see Figure 4-5). The loss associated with the RF feeder system
can be minimized by reducing the transmission line run between the base station and its antennas,
and/or utilizing lower loss transmission lines. Transmission lines can range from 1/2” to 1-5/8”, or
greater, diameter cables. The larger the diameter of the cable, the less lossy the medium, but the
sacrifice is more rigid lines, larger bending radius, greater weight, more wind loading and larger
area required. Transmission lines are also available with either air or foam dielectrics. The air
dielectric cables are more expensive to install and maintain, but are less lossy than the foam lines.
Figure 4-5 reflects most of the different components that are encountered between the base site
antenna and the base station equipment.
When estimating the amount of transmission line loss, keep in mind that the line loss is frequency
dependent. Transmission cables are more lossy at higher frequencies. At 800 MHz, a 7/8” line may
suffice, but a 1-5/8” line for 1900 MHz may be required to maintain a similar loss. The following
table shows an example of the difference that can exist in transmission line loss as a function of the
operating frequency.
Consult the transmission line vendor for the specifications of the installed transmission line or the
system operator, if actual field measurements have been made.
(G) Duplexer
Additionally, the reference point used in the base station specifications should be known. For
instance, the duplexer loss and its jumpers/connectors to the base station may already be included
in the specifications for the base station’s noise figure and PA output. Typically, the specifications
for the base station are at the top of the frame. Therefore, if the duplexer or other components are
located within the base station frame, additional loss would not need to be factored in. If, on the
other hand, the device is located external to the base station frame, this loss would need to be
accounted for.
For sites with multiple CDMA carriers, the Rx signal distribution and the Tx combining schemes
are typically addressed within the equipment specifications of the base station frame. If combining
or splitting of the RF signal is being performed external to the base station frame, the loss
associated with the combining or splitting would need to be added to the link budget.
From a budgetary or approximation viewpoint, one RF feeder loss value could be assumed as the
typical value for all of the sites. In real world situations, however, it is rare that one loss value will
4.2.1.6 Antennas
Antennas can be either omni or directional. Omni antennas provide approximately the same
amount of gain throughout the entire 360° horizontal pattern. Directional antennas, sometimes
referred to as sector antennas, have a maximum gain in one direction with the backside being 15
to 25 dB below the maximum gain.
The gain of the antenna is a function of the horizontal pattern, vertical pattern, and number of
elements that make up the antenna array. The number of elements will dictate the size of the
antenna. The horizontal and vertical beamwidths are referenced as the amount of degrees between
the points on the pattern where the gain is down 3 dB from the maximum gain.
• The size and weight of the antenna will impact tower loading or the ability to place the
antenna in the optimum position.
• Typically, antenna patterns with narrower horizontal and/or vertical beamwidths will
result in a higher antenna gain, assuming similar lengths.
• The horizontal and vertical beamwidths will have an impact upon the performance of the
site at the locations midway between the sectors. The larger horizontal beamwidths will
result in more overlap of signal between sectors and thus increase the amount of softer
handoff between sectors and soft handoff with other sites. This impacts the amount of
interference seen (thus impacting capacity) and the ability to contain pilot pollution.
• The front to back ratio of the antenna also impacts the amount of interference seen at
other sites and the ability to minimize pilot pollution.
The horizontal and vertical patterns provided by the selected antenna should be verified to ensure
that there will be coverage in the desired area. For instance, as a means to improve forward gain of
the antenna, the vertical beamwidth may be reduced. In some situations, this reduction in the
vertical beamwidth may produce unsatisfactory signal strengths near the cell site tower due to the
antenna overshooting the area to be covered.
The antennas located at the base site can be either omni or directional. In early cellular designs,
most sites started out as omni. Fewer antennas were required and the system was lightly loaded.
As the traffic requirements grew, sites were required to be sectorized to provide for this additional
traffic and to restrict the amount of co-channel and adjacent channel interference.
PCS systems at 1900 MHz initially did not require an abundance of capacity, but utilized
directional antennas because of the extra gain associated with a directional antenna as compared to
an omni antenna. A 4 dB improvement could easily be achieved by using directional antennas
instead of omni antennas. This 4 dB improvement could potentially reduce the quantity of sites
required at 1900 MHz by approximately 40%.
It is not mandatory that all sites use the same antenna. The system planner may deploy either omni
or directional antennas at a cell site to meet the coverage goals desired.
As mentioned above, the antennas need to be selected to ensure coverage will be provided over the
desired area. In addition, antennas need to be selected to minimize the level of interference.
Decreasing the level of interference will allow for greater site capacity and improved system
performance. Antenna patterns that provide a faster rolloff past the half power points (i.e. 3 dB
down from main lobe) will provide for better interference protection. In frequency reuse systems
(AMPS, GSM, USDC), improved interference control, such as through the use of sectorized sites,
allows for a set of frequencies to be used at closer distances (i.e. tighter reuse pattern), thus
providing increased capacity. For CDMA, as mentioned in the chapter on capacity (Chapter 3),
interference from other cells and other sectors has an impact on the capacity that can be supported.
Our assumptions here are that the portable subscriber unit antenna has a gain of 0 dBi (-2.14 dBd)
without factoring in body loss and is an omni antenna. It is possible that differences may exist. The
system could be designed for mobile coverage, in which case, the antenna mounted on the external
of the vehicle may have higher gain.
Another scenario is a fixed application. An option for the FWT is to have a whip antenna connected
directly to the FWT unit. This whip antenna gain may differ based upon product or vendor. Another
option is that the FWT installation may utilize yagi or patch antennas with much greater gain and
directivity.
CDMA specific parameters are those items in the RF link budget which will have different values
based on the technology chosen. CDMA parameters include such factors as: interference margin,
soft handoff gain and Eb/No.
In determining RF coverage in CDMA systems, the effect of interference generated from other
users on the serving cell as well as the neighboring cells must be considered. As discussed in
Chapter 3, this is in contrast to the RF coverage analysis for AMPS cells where interference mainly
affects the frequency assignment, but not the coverage.
The interference noise rise margin is dependent upon the amount of loading assumed in the system.
Different cell deployment strategies can be modeled by varying the interference margin. CDMA
cell deployments could be based on loading individual frequencies one by one, until they achieve
the target load (for instance, a 6 dB noise rise). An alternative deployment could utilize more
CDMA radio carriers, initially operating at a reduced load, to further extend the range of the cells
(for instance, 3 dB noise rise) while trading off capacity (exploiting any immediate spectrum
available). This 3 dB system rise improvement would result in approximately 30% fewer CDMA
cell sites at system turn-on.
The following equation can be used as a first pass approximation for the amount of interference
margin to be added to the reverse RF link budget to account for loading the CDMA system with
users.
Where X is the system load, specified as a fraction of pole capacity. For example, a cell site
operating near full capacity has X equal to seventy-five percent (75%). Noise rise varies as a
function of propagation, environment, load, user distribution, etc.
Assuming a CDMA system with N subscribers in the cell of interest and perfect reverse link power
control such that the power received at the base site due to each subscriber unit is the same,
P r1 = P r2 = .... P rN = P r , the signal to noise plus total (in-cell and out of cell) inbound
interference ratio on the traffic channel can be defined as:
Eb W-
------ = SNR ⋅ PG = SNR ⋅ ----- [EQ 4-3]
Nt Rb
Eb ⁄ Nt
SNR = --------------- [EQ 4-4]
W ⁄ Rb
Where:
SNR is the signal to noise plus total interference ratio
Pr is the power (in Watts) received at the base site from each individual in-cell
subscriber unit. Note that, although the power received at the base site from a
particular subscriber unit is a function of several factors (i.e. subscriber unit’s
transmit power, subscriber unit antenna gain, base site antenna gain, individual
path loss and fading), the reverse link power control ensures that the received
power from any subscriber unit in the cell is approximately at the same level P r .
No is the thermal noise power spectral density (in Watts/Hz) at the input to the
receiver Low Noise Amplifier (LNA)
( N – 1 )αP r
Io = ---------------------------- , is the interference power spectral density (in Watts/Hz) from all
W
of the subscriber units within the cell at the input to the receiver LNA. Note that,
in the cell of interest, out of a total of N subscriber units, only one subscriber unit
is the one of interest, hence there are N – 1 interfering subscriber units.
α is the voice activity factor or the fraction of time voice is transmitted during a call
I oc is the interference power spectral density (in Watts/Hz) from all of the subscriber
units in other cells at the input to the receiver LNA and is the function of their
respective path loss characteristics, load, size and power control
Eb ⁄ Nt is the figure of merit for digital systems and is defined as energy per bit to noise
plus total interference power spectral density ratio
InCell Io
F = -------------------------------------------- = ----------------- [EQ 4-5]
InCell + OutCell I o + I oc
Some references to the frequency reuse factor may be in terms of out of cell interference to in cell
interference (f = OutCell/InCell). The frequency reuse factors F and f can be equated with the
following equation:
1
F = ----------- [EQ 4-6]
1+f
( N – 1 )αP r
F = ---------------------------------------------- [EQ 4-7]
( N – 1 )αP r + I oc W
Substituting the value of I o into [EQ 4-2] and dividing both numerator and denominator by N o W ,
SNR can be rewritten as
Pr Pr ⁄ ( N o W )
SNR = ---------------------------------------------------------------- = -------------------------------------------------------- [EQ 4-8]
N o W + ( N – 1 )αP r + I oc W ( N – 1 )αP r I oc W
1 + ---------------------------- + ------------
No W No W
Pr ⁄ ( N o W ) Pr ⁄ ( N o W )
SNR = ----------------------------------------------------------------- = -------------------------------------------------------- [EQ 4-9]
( NαP r + I oc W ) αP r ( N – 1 )αP r + I oc W
1 + ------------------------------------- – ----------- 1 + ----------------------------------------------
No W No W No W
Substituting the value of F-factor from [EQ 4-7] into [EQ 4-9] results in,
Pr ⁄ ( N o W ) Pr ⁄ ( N o W )
SNR = ------------------------------------------------------ = ------------------------------------------------- [EQ 4-10]
( N – 1 )αP r α ( N – 1 ) Pr
1 + ---------------------- -----------
1
1 + ----------- ⋅ ----------------------------
No W F F N o W
s
SNR = ---------------------------------- [EQ 4-11]
α
1 + --- ( N – 1 )s
F
SNR SNR
s = ----------------------------------------------- = ------------ [EQ 4-12]
α 1–X
1 – --- ( N – 1 ) ⋅ SNR
F
α
X = --- ( N – 1 ) ⋅ SNR [EQ 4-13]
F
The upper bound on the number of users or the pole capacity of the cell of interest can be obtained
by substituting X = 1 into [EQ 4-13] and replacing SNR with [EQ 4-4] to yield:
F F W ⁄ Rb
N pole = 1 + ------------------- = 1 + --- ⋅ --------------- [EQ 4-14]
α ⋅ SNR α Eb ⁄ Nt
The system rise is defined as the ratio of thermal noise plus total inbound interference to thermal
noise and is given by
N o W + I o W + I oc W
R = ---------------------------------------------- [EQ 4-15]
No W
Pr ⁄ ( N o W ) s
R = --------------------------- = ----------- [EQ 4-16]
SNR SNR
Substituting the value of s from [EQ 4-12] in [EQ 4-16] results in:
1
R = ------------ or R (dB) = – 10 log ( 1 – X ) [EQ 4-17]
1–X
R (dB) is the median rise. In other words, noise rise is above (or below) this level 50% of the time.
This is due to the voice activity ( α ) term used in the SNR calculation.
Figure 4-6 is a graphical representation of [EQ 4-17] and plots rise versus the loading factor X.
From the plot, 50% loading corresponds to a rise of 3 dB and 75% loading corresponds to a 6 dB
rise.
Soft handoff is the term that is normally associated with the fact that a CDMA system makes a
connection to a target cell prior to releasing (breaking) from the source site, commonly referred to
as “make-before-break”. A hard handoff, associated with AMPS, GSM, or USDC, requires that the
signal strength from the target cell be greater than the signal strength from the source cell by a
hysteresis value in order to reduce the number of handoffs per call and the “ping-pong” effect. This
hysteresis requires an overlap between the cell coverage areas. The soft handoff gain corresponds
to a decreased shadow fade margin required by the CDMA soft handoff over that of a hard handoff
system.
Some proponents of CDMA may have a separate entry in the RF link budget for soft handoff gain.
The purpose of this is to provide information as to the benefits of CDMA over other technologies.
Some system designers believe that the soft handoff gain should be accounted for in the reliability
value (shadow fade margin). The example RF link budget provided in a later section incorporates
the soft handoff gain in with the shadow fade margin. Refer to the section on Reliability for further
discussion on the shadow fade margin.
For a fixed system, the gain offered by soft handoff may or may not be present depending upon the
system design. For instance, a single isolated site supporting a fixed system would have no
neighboring sites to even allow soft handoff to occur. In this situation, the soft handoff gain would
be zero. Another situation is for a fixed system utilizing external FWT antennas. These directional
antennas tend to be sited to the best signal source and therefore minimal advantage from soft
4.2.2.3 Eb/No
Eb/No corresponds to energy per bit over interference plus noise density for a given target Frame
Erasure Rate (FER, typical voice FER target is 1%). In digital communications, it is customary to
designate one-sided noise density with No. In CDMA, interference is dominated by the noise
generated due to other users in the system. The notation, No, in this section refers to the total power
density due to interference and noise.
Included in the CDMA Eb/No value is diversity improvement arising from performance in
Rayleigh fading. This is distinct from the entry “Soft Handoff Gain” which represents an estimate
of the performance improvement of soft handoff, relative to hard handoff, when experiencing log
normal shadowing.
In general, the required downlink Eb/No, to provide an acceptable audio quality, improves at higher
speeds and in soft handoff. In the uplink path, the required Eb/No improves at lower speeds (which
is the opposite of the downlink). The worst case Eb/No value for voice communication on the
uplink is at about 30 kmph.
The uplink Eb/No value accounts for rake (non-coherent combining) receiver, dual antenna, and
interleaving/coding. The downlink Eb/No value accounts for rake (coherent, maximal ratio
combining) receiver, and interleaving/coding.
For mobile systems, the Eb/No target varies dynamically as the subscriber moves around. However,
FWTs are fixed and the only movement is that of people around the FWT in a building and large
vehicles or pedestrians close to an outdoor FWT antenna. Optimized FWT deployment may
significantly reduce the Eb/No target by avoiding the fading caused by the surrounding
environment.
In a mobile environment, the fading characteristic is Rayleigh. For a fixed system, the fading
environment may be more Rician. The Eb/No value assumes a certain type of fading environment.
The Eb/No requirement for a fixed system will therefore be different than for a mobile environment.
The Eb/No target value may range from 4 dB to 8 dB for CDMA fixed systems. The Eb/No target
value should be set to 8 dB for isolated cells using indoor omni FWT antennas or for cells with
little SHO benefits in the fringe areas. However, if external directional FWT antennas are used and
a Line Of Site (LOS) path exists between the cell site and the FWT antenna, an Eb/No target value
of 4 dB may be used.
As improvements are made to the hardware (chip sets) and to the software (how the energy is
managed), the Eb/No requirement level may be lessened. Typical Eb/No values used for fixed
systems are stated above. The early requirements for a mobile system are approximately 7 to 7.5
IS-95A and IS-95B assume the same Eb/No values. For the IS-2000 RF reverse link, there are
separate Eb/No values provided for the fundamental channel rate and each supplemental channel
rate. The Eb/No values for the supplemental channel rates (19.2 kbps and greater) are less than the
fundamental Eb/No. Two main factors are contributing to this. A higher FER for the higher data
rates may be targeted as compared to lower FER for lower data rates for speech (9600 bps e.g.).
This will reduce the required Eb/No. The RF link budget shown in Table 4-7 assumes an FER of
5% for the supplemental channel rates and an FER of 1% for the fundamental channel. It is viewed
that the radio link protocols (RLP) will allow for relaxed FER requirements for the supplemental
channel. The control channel information carried on the fundamental channel requires the better
FER. Turbo coding is the other factor contributing to the lower Eb/No value for the supplemental
channels. Turbo coding improves upon the error correction at the higher data rates. The higher the
data rate, the larger the benefit from Turbo coding (Turbo coding gain grows as the number of bits
sent increases for a given frame size) which results in a lower Eb/No for a given FER target.
From a link budget analysis, only one Eb/No value can be assumed for a given scenario. The
appropriate Eb/No value to be used in the RF link budget is based upon the system design
assumptions (base station equipment and vocoder rate).
The Nokia Siemens Networks IDGP CDMA Simulator incorporates a family of curves to more
accurately account for the Eb/No requirements needed to meet a desired FER for each link that is
being analyzed between the user and the site. Refer to Section 4.7 for additional discussion on the
simulator.
Product specific parameters are those items in the RF link budget which can vary based on the
product (base station and subscriber) chosen. There may be differences between products within
Nokia Siemens Networks’ base station product line, such as differences in PA power. Differences
will also exist between different equipment vendors. Each equipment vendor will have their own
vision of the type of market their equipment is to satisfy.
The transmit power is typically referenced by the power output of the piece of equipment prior to
the RF transmission lines and antennas. The point at which the transmit power is being measured
needs to be determined to ensure that there are no gains or losses left out of the link budget.
The IS-95A standard provides the maximum effective radiated power (ERP) for any class of
The CDMA standard for 1.8 to 2.0 GHz (ANSI J-STD-008) provides the maximum effective
isotropic radiated power (EIRP) for any class of personal station transmitter in Section 2.1.2.1. The
Class I personal station is not to exceed 2 Watts (33 dBm). For the Class II personal station, the
minimum EIRP is 0.2 Watts (23 dBm) and the maximum EIRP is 1 Watt (30 dBm).
There is a slight difference between the PCS and Cellular specifications. Cellular references the
output power with respect to a dipole (ERP), whereas PCS makes reference to an isotropic radiator
(EIRP). Therefore, there is approximately a 2 dB difference between the specifications given in the
standards documents.
The latest version of 3GPP2 C.S0011, Recommended Minimum Performance Standards for
cdma2000 Spread Spectrum Mobile Stations, also provides a table of radiated powers for the
various band classes that exist.
The typical subscriber value to be used in the reverse link (uplink - subscriber transmit to base
receive) is 23 dBm.
With respect to the reverse RF link budget, one parameter could be used for the transmit power of
the subscriber unit (the EIRP or ERP value) or it may be desirable to break up this value into three
parts. The three parts are: subscriber PA output, transmission line and connector losses, and the
antenna gain.
Since the subscriber unit, portable or FWT, can be purchased from different vendors, the
specifications for each subscriber unit should be obtained.
With IS-95B, high speed packet data is supported by concatenating multiple RF channels on the
forward link (Walsh codes). To enable the concatenation of multiple channels, IS-95B compatible
subscriber units are required. IS-95B HSPD was not implemented on the reverse link, thus only
one RF channel is supported on the reverse link. It is assumed that the IS-95B subscriber unit’s
physical characteristics will be the same as those that were used for IS-95A voice. If a different
device is used for data than for voice, the subscriber PA output, transmission line and connector
losses, and the antenna gain parameters would need to be determined.
With IS-2000, high speed packet data is supported with the use of supplemental channels. IS-2000
compatible subscriber units are required to support this air interface specification. With IS-2000,
the reverse link can support multiple channels (e.g. reverse pilot channel, fundamental channel,
supplemental channel). The example IS-2000 reverse RF link budget in Table 4-7 has two
additional rows to show the amount of power that would be dedicated to the fundamental or
dedicated control channel and to the supplemental channel (for reverse data rates greater than 9.6
kbps). The following definitions were obtained from the IS-2000 specifications.
The subscriber unit transmit power associated with the R-FCH or R-DCCH is dependent upon the
processing gain and Eb/No requirements associated with the fundamental channel. The subscriber
unit transmit power associated with the R-SCH is dependent upon the processing gain and Eb/No
requirements associated with the data rate of the R-SCH (19.2, 38.4, 76.8 or 153.6 kbps). When a
supplemental channel is required, some of the subscriber unit’s transmit power needs to be
allocated for the R-FCH or R-DCCH. The remaining transmit power can be utilized for the R-SCH.
The difference in the transmit power between the R-SCH and the R-FCH or R-DCCH is based on
the difference of the processing gain and Eb/No requirements of the different channels. The
following set of equations provide a method to determine the transmit powers for the various
reverse traffic channels.
PT = PFCH + PSCH
Where:
PT is the total subscriber unit transmit power available (mW)
PFCH is the portion of the total subscriber unit transmit power available for the reverse
fundamental channel or reverse dedicated control channel (mW)
PSCH is the portion of the total subscriber unit transmit power available for the reverse
supplemental channel (mW)
PT = 200 mW
= 89.7 mW
The CDMA standard for 1.8 to 2.0 GHz (ANSI J-STD-008) in Section 3.1.2 states that the base
station shall not transmit more than 1,640 Watts of effective isotropic radiated power (62.1 dBm
EIRP) in any direction in a 1.25 MHz band for antenna heights above average terrain less than 300
meters. The base transceiver station power is used in the forward link (downlink - base transmit to
subscriber receive).
With respect to the forward RF link budget, one value could be used for the transmit power of the
base station (the EIRP value) but typically this value is separated into three parts. The three parts
are: base station PA output, transmission line and connector losses, and the antenna gain. The
subscriber units are typically more uniform, having similar line losses and antenna gains. The base
station, on the other hand, can vary quite a bit from one base station to the next. Based on the
configuration of the site, location of antennas with respect to the base station infrastructure, and
power out required, it is not as simple to have one EIRP value that is common across the majority
of the sites. Since each base station site can be unique, the uniqueness of the site needs to be
accounted for to ensure the appropriate EIRP is being designed for. For instance, one site may
require a 100 ft. run of main transmission line, whereas another site may only require a 50 ft. run.
The additional loss for the longer run would alter the EIRP from the site. Another difference would
exist based on differences of antennas and their associated gains.
The power output of the base station is normally assumed to be the power out at the top of the
cabinet. It is possible that each vendor will have different transmit powers for their equipment. In
addition, one vendor may have different transmit powers for each product in their portfolio of base
station products. Obtain the specifications for the particular base station(s) that will be used in the
system design. In looking at the specifications, the power amplifiers may be for multiple carriers
or for a single tone (carrier). Refer to Section 4.4 for additional information on the Nokia Siemens
Networks BTS PAs.
The sensitivity of a radio receiver is a measure of its ability to receive weak signals. The following
Where:
k Boltzmann’s constant = 1.38x10-23 W/(Hz K)
The processing gain, PG, is the result of the bandwidth (W) divided by the data rate (R). For IS-95
Rate Set 1 (8 kbps vocoder), the data rate is 9600 bps. The resulting processing gain for this case
is obtained as follows:
The following table provides the data rate (R) and the resulting processing gain for various Rate
Sets and radio configurations. The data rates provided in the table are those that are supported in
CBSC Release 16.0 through the current release. Refer to the latest IS-95A/B and IS-2000 standards
for all of the data rates that exist in the air interface standards.
IS-95B supports high speed packet data, but because of the data applications that were being
deployed, only the fundamental rate was provided on the reverse link. Therefore, the above table
only provides the processing gain for the two different fundamental rates.
Differences in the receive sensitivity will exist between the subscriber unit and base station due to
the differences in Eb/No values, as discussed in Section 4.2.2.3, and the noise figure of the
equipment. The other parameters in the receive sensitivity calculation will be the same for both
ends of the link.
The noise figure, or NF, of a network is a value used to compare the noise in a network with the
noise in an ideal or noiseless network. It is a measure of the degradation in signal-to-noise ratio
(SNR) between the input and output ports of the network. Noise factor (F) is the numerical ratio of
NF, where NF is expressed in dB. The equation for converting noise factor to noise figure is:
Typically the noise figure value to be used in determining the receiver sensitivity value can be
obtained from the specification sheet for the particular product. The noise figure for the base station
is approximately 6 to 7 dB maximum with a typical value of approximately 4.5 dB. Consult the
base station equipment vendor for the specifics.
In some instances, a tower top amplifier (TTA) may be installed at a site to improve the level of
the received signal at the base station. The TTA includes an amplifier and therefore a new noise
figure needs to be determined since the configuration now has cascaded amplifiers. A TTA will
only benefit the reverse path (subscriber to base station). Since the TTA is only improving the
reverse link, the forward link may become more of the limiting path. It may be that a larger power
amplifier is needed in the forward link in order to balance both paths.
For a TTA scenario as mentioned above, it will be necessary to calculate the noise figure of a group
of amplifiers that are connected in series. This can be accomplished if the noise figure of each
F2 – 1 F3 – 1 F4 – 1
F Total = F 1 + --------------- + --------------- + --------------------- … [EQ 4-21]
G1 G1 G2 G1 G2 G3
Where:
Fn is the noise factor of each stage
One important point to be made with respect to [EQ 4-21] is that if the gain of the first stage G1 is
sufficiently high, the denominators of the subsequent terms will force those terms to be small,
leaving only F1. Therefore, the NF of the first stage will typically determine the NF of the cascaded
configuration.
The NF of two or more cascaded lossy networks can be found by simply adding the losses (in dB)
of each network element. Examples of a lossy network element are: transmission lines, jumpers,
duplexers, filters and mixers. If a duplexer with an insertion loss of 0.5 dB is followed by a main
transmission line loss of 3 dB, the combined noise figure of this cascaded network is 3.5 dB.
The following figure shows two different sites. One site has an amplifier located on the top of the
tower. The other site is the more conventional site, that has no additional amplification beyond the
base station. This diagram will be used to run through an example showing the noise figure
improvement with the TTA. In this diagram, stage 2 in the tower top amplifier example and stage
1 of the without tower top amplifier example represent cascaded lossy network elements which are
able to be summed together.
B D
0.5 dB Jumper to Antenna 0.5 dB
0.5 dB Jumper
Stage Stage
2 1
3 dB Directional Coupler 3 dB
Jumper to Duplexer
Duplexer
A C
Jumper to Tx and Rx Antenna Port
Stage Stage
NF = 9.5 dB 3 2 NF = 6 dB
BTS BTS
The following table lists the noise figures, noise factors, and gains for each stage shown above.
2.24 – 1 8.91 – 1
F B = 1.78 + ------------------- + ------------------------------ [EQ 4-23]
15.85 15.85 × 0.45
FB = 2.97
NFB = 4.73 dB
The design without the tower top amplifier would result in the following noise factor at reference
point D shown in Figure 4-7:
3.98 – 1
F D = 2 + ------------------- [EQ 4-24]
0.5
FD = 7.96
NFD = 9.0 dB
The noise figure at point D could have also been determined by just adding the noise figure of stage
1 to the noise figure of stage 2 because the elements which made up stage 1 were all lossy.
From the above calculations, the low noise figure and the gain of the TTA produces a cascaded
noise figure of 4.73 dB at reference point B. This is a 4.77 dB improvement in the noise figure as
compared to the noise figure at point A. Point D, in the non-TTA case, can be compared to point B
to show the improvement in the noise figure and thus the reverse link improvement that can be
achieved with the TTA. The reverse link has improved 4.27 dB (9 - 4.73) with the TTA.
If the impact of the TTA is to be applied to a link budget, the following values would be used:
Please note that for the example in Figure 4-7, the base station product which includes a TTA was
modified to have a higher noise figure than the typical base station. The higher noise figure for the
base station/TTA configuration was implemented so that the gain of the TTA does not overdrive
the front-end of the base station. Adding a low noise amplifier to the receive path of a standard BTS
(i.e. not modified) will degrade the equivalent 3rd order input intercept point (IIP3) performance
Though the above scenario shows a reverse link budget advantage when a TTA is installed, not all
aspects of a TTA may be as advantageous. The following lists some of the drawbacks of TTAs:
Due to the increased susceptibility to noise, Nokia Siemens Networks does not typically
recommend TTAs. Though in some scenarios (for example in rural applications), TTAs may be
beneficial.
The noise figure for the subscriber unit is approximately 10 dB. The required Eb/No value to
provide acceptable audio quality for the subscriber unit is highly dependent on several parameters.
These parameters include: the speed, the environmental parameters, multipath and soft handoff of
the subscriber unit. This is one of the reasons why it is difficult to determine a forward link budget.
It is best left to a CDMA simulator that takes these situations into account.
The shadow fade margin (also known as slow or log-normal fading margin) corresponds to the
variation in mean signal level caused by the subscriber passing through the shadows of hills or
buildings. The log-normal distribution has been found to be a good estimate of the statistical nature
of shadowing and is used to calculate the probability of RF coverage at each point in the cell. At
points near the base station, the average received signal level and the probability of coverage will
be high. At points near the edge of the cell, the average received signal level and probability of
coverage will be lower. The total probability of coverage for the entire cell is determined by
integrating the point probabilities over the cell area. The desired area coverage (e.g. 90%) is
achieved by adjusting the fade margin to the necessary level. A normal distribution of signals can
be used in calculating the reliability. The following figure shows that adding a margin to the link
budget will increase the reliability (confidence) of achieving the desired signal level.
No Fade Margin
Edge Reliability at 50%
Margin
Edge Reliability at greater than 50%
The desired level of reliability is used to determine the amount of shadow fade margin that is
required, where a 97% design requires several dB more margin than a 95% design. To improve the
RF reliability, going further out on the tail of the distribution, additional margin is added to all
users. For a fixed system this may not be efficient nor cost effective since subscriber unit placement
has a big effect in determining the worst 5% of the users. The cost of increasing the reliability
(increasing dB margin that will impact all users) should be replaced with fixing the worst 5% of
the users, and thus saving the dB margin for the average users. For a fixed system, the fade margin,
building penetration margin, and soft handoff gain should to be considered together to provide for
the best achievable link budget.
The fade margin is the amount of margin necessary to achieve the required area reliability (as per
Jakes’ equations5) for a given standard deviation. The standard deviation is a measured value that
is obtained from various clutter types. It basically represents the variance (log-normally distributed
around the mean value) of the measured RF signal strengths at a certain distance from the site.
5. Jakes, W.C., “Microwave Mobile Communications”, IEEE Press Reissue 1993 (Wiley, New York, 1974),
pp. 125-127
Jakes’ single cell reliability equations (refer to the following equations) that determine the edge and
area reliability of a single cell model are commonly used to approximate the reliability of a site.
1 1 x o – x
P xo ( R ) = --- – --- erf ------------- [EQ 4-25]
2 2 σ 2
Where:
Pxo ( R ) Edge reliability
1 – 1-
F u = --- 1 – erf ( a ) + exp -----------------
1 – 2ab- ab
b
1 + erf -------------- [EQ 4-26]
2 2
b
xo – α
a = -------------- [EQ 4-27]
σ 2
10nLog 10 ( e )
b = -------------------------------- [EQ 4-28]
σ 2
Where:
Fu is the fraction of the total cell area where the signal exceeds a threshold
determined by P x o
2 2 2
σc = ( σ1 ) + ( σ2 ) … ( σn ) [EQ 4-29]
This composite standard deviation may sometimes be used if there are two or more environments
(for instance, outdoors and in-building) which have their own standard deviation. For example if
the standard deviation is 6 dB for outdoors and 8 dB for in-building, the composite standard
deviation to use in Jake’s equation would be 10 dB.
The following two figures (Figure 4-9 and Figure 4-10) are results from Jake’s single cell model.
The edge reliability, Figure 4-9, has been shown for three different standard deviations (6.5, 8, and
10 dB) to demonstrate the impact of the standard deviation.
90%
80%
Edge Reliability
6.5
70% 8.0
10.0
60%
50%
40%
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
Figure 4-9 shows that edge reliability is dependent on the standard deviation and fade margin
assumed. The following observations can be seen.
• As the standard deviation increases, the edge reliability is reduced for the same fade
margin.
• As the standard deviation increases, a larger fade margin is required to maintain the
same edge reliability.
100%
95%
35, 6.5
32, 6.5
40, 8
85% 35, 8
32, 8
40, 10
35, 10
80% 32, 10
75%
70%
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
Note: Within the legend of Figure 4-10, the first value corresponds to the propagation loss
slope in dB per decade. The second value corresponds to the standard deviation in dB.
Figure 4-10 shows that the area reliability is dependent on the standard deviation, fade margin, and
propagation loss slope (the slope is dependent on the height of the antennas). The following
observations can be seen.
• As the standard deviation increases, a larger fade margin is required to maintain the
same area reliability, assuming the same propagation slope.
• As the level of area reliability increases, a larger fade margin is required, assuming the
same standard deviation and propagation slope.
• As the propagation slope (path loss exponent) increases, a smaller fade margin is
required to maintain the same area reliability, assuming the same standard deviation.
The preceding information is for a single cell. When multiple cells and soft handoff are accounted
for, the probability of meeting a given signal strength is increased. Soft handoff is not an absolute
Since most systems are comprised of more than a single cell, the benefit of multiple cell effects
could be used. Simulations can be performed, given various assumptions (path loss slope, standard
deviation, correlation), to determine the appropriate shadow fade margin to be added to the link
budget to provide for the reliability desired. This multiple cell effect accounts for the overlap of
adjacent cells and the fast handoff capability of the CDMA soft handoff method. As mentioned in
the previous soft handoff section, the gain associated with soft handoff can be rolled into one
shadow fade margin.
Nokia Siemens Networks has performed various simulations for a multiple cell system and
generated some reliability curves. The curves in Figure 4-11 show that 4.7 to 5.6 dB fade margin
is required to reach 95% area reliability for a sector site. The curves show that the area reliability
is a function of the configuration of the site, as well as the standard deviation and site-to-site
correlation assumed. Nokia Siemens Networks typically recommends the 5.6 dB shadow fade
margin to design systems with an area reliability of 95% or slightly better.
The following two figures illustrate examples of the required fade margin based on simulations.
These simulations account for the soft handoff advantage in a multi-cell system. The two figures
illustrate the cell area and edge reliability as a function of shadow fade margin. Note that the
required margin varies as a function of the propagation model and sectorization. The notation (x1,
x2, x3), in the figures refer to the propagation model, where x1 is the path loss slope, x2 is the
lognormal shadow fading standard deviation, and x3 is the site-to-site correlation (Note: path loss
slope x1 converts to path loss dB/decade by multiplying x1 by a factor of 10).
For the above analysis, the sector sites assumed an antenna with 90° horizontal beamwidth. For a
given area reliability, the sector sites required a larger fade margin to account for the reduction of
gain experienced between the sectors.
As mentioned in the section on soft handoff gain, some RF link budgets may have separate entries
for soft handoff gain and shadow fade margin. Typically when this is done, Jakes’ single cell model
fade margin is used to obtain the reliability level desired. The CDMA RF link budget, though, still
needs to account for the benefit of soft handoff. Therefore, an approximation for the benefit of soft
handoff gain is required in the link budget. In the RF link budget spreadsheet analysis, Nokia
Siemens Networks typically assumes the benefit for soft handoff in a mobile environment to be
approximately 3.5 dB for a cluster of sties. If there is only a single entry in the RF link budget for
the fade margin, then the composite fade margin would be the single cell shadow fade margin
minus the benefit associated with soft handoff and multiple cells. For example, assuming a 9.1 dB
shadow fade margin and 3.5 dB benefit from soft handoff and multiple cells, the composite fade
margin would be 5.6 dB (9.1 minus 3.5).This is an approximation based on a single cell model plus
an assumed soft handoff benefit.
The following table provides an example of a reverse path RF link budget for both a mobile/
portable system and a fixed IS-95 system. This basic RF link budget example could be applied
towards an IS-95A or IS-95B system. Antenna gains, feeder losses, noise rise, building losses,
vehicle losses, shadow fade margins, etc. will differ from system to system and from site to site
Note: 1. It is assumed that the latest version of chip sets are being utilized.
2. Path Loss values shown assume a medium traffic load on the reverse link for the
CDMA system.
3. The shadow fade margin assumes the effects of soft handoff and multiple cells.
Where:
Sensitivity and path loss are calculated as follows:
Sb = kTB + Nfb + E - PG
Lp = Pp - Lfp + Gp + Gb - Lfb - Sb - Im - Tm - Hm - Vm - Bm - Fm
Li = Lp + (2 * 2.14)
The third difference is with respect to the building/vehicle penetration loss. For the fixed case, a
building loss value of 6 dB is shown based upon the assumption that the FWT with whip antenna
will be placed close to a window and in a location that will minimize the impact of the building
loss. The amount of building penetration will need to be adjusted (could be greater or less than the
6 dB value assumed here) based on the installation location of the FWT antenna and the building
characteristics (some buildings may allow RF to pass better than others).
For the mobile case, 7 dB is assumed for a vehicle penetration value. If in-building is desired, then
this value would need to be modified accordingly. If it is desired to provide in-building coverage,
additional margin would be required.
The fade margin is set the same for fixed and mobile for these link budget examples. One view is
that the fade margin should be increased to provide for better reliability for a fixed system. This
increased fade margin, though, would apply to all subscribers. Another way to improve the
reliability for a fixed system is not by adding margin in the link budget, which effects all users, but
to take the worst performing FWT and replace the whip antenna with an external antenna. This will
improve its performance, which ultimately improves the overall reliability. Another view is that
the reliability for fixed should be higher since fixed is competing with the wireline service. The
amount of fade margin is related to the reliability. If the reliability criteria is increased, the fade
margin will also need to be increased.
Another value which differs between the fixed and mobile is the subscriber antenna height. This is
not part of the link budget above, but would be required in the propagation models. The typical
subscriber antenna height assumed for the mobile (portable) case is 1.5 meters. The FWT antenna
has the ability of being positioned at various heights (on a desk, on a wall, externally on the roof),
therefore the height of the FWT could range from 1 to 3 or more meters.
The following table provides an example of an IS-2000 1X reverse path RF link budget for a
mobile/portable system. It represents the reverse Radio Configuration 3. A similar approach can
be done for reverse Radio Configuration 4 by replacing the subscriber transmit power, processing
gain and Eb/Nos with the appropriate values. Antenna gains, feeder losses, noise rise, building
losses, vehicle losses, shadow fade margins, etc. will differ from system to system and from site to
site (possibly even from sector to sector) based on the design objectives of the system planner.
Note: 1. Path Loss values shown assume a medium traffic load on the reverse link for the
CDMA system.
2. The shadow fade margin assumes the effects of soft handoff and multiple cells.
An observation of the above table shows that the allowable path loss decreases as the data rate
increases. This means that a smaller cell radius would be required to support higher data rates. For
example, more sites would be required if a system was to be designed based on a reverse link
IS-2000 provides the ability to have asymmetrical data transmission. That is, the data rate on the
forward link can be different than the data rate employed on the reverse link. Initial data
applications for IS-2000 are assumed to demand more data to be transferred on the forward link
than on the reverse link (i.e. the forward link data rate will need to be faster than the reverse link
data rate). Additionally, it is viewed that the reverse link will be the limiting link with regards to
coverage, whereas the forward link will be the limiting link with regards to capacity. It is possible
that an RF reverse link based on a fundamental rate of 9.6 kbps would allow for sufficient path loss
so that a forward link of 76.8 kbps could be achieved. This means that the reverse link coverage to
support 9.6 kbps may provide for sufficient coverage on the forward link to support a user needing
76.8 kbps. This is not saying that a user rate of 153.6 kbps is not supported. A user, in close
proximity to the site, could have a forward and/or reverse supplemental channel at 153.6 kbps, but
not at the fringe of the site. Given these views, a system design based on the RF reverse link for
reverse data rates above 19.2 kbps may not be necessary. If data applications require a high volume
of reverse data, then higher data rates need to be considered.
These link budgets are examples and may need to be modified to accommodate specific design
goals for a system. Refer to the previous discussion on each of the parameters to determine if
alterations are required for a specific design.
The RF link budget propagation related parameters have the most variability. These propagation
related parameters are typically vendor and technology independent. The link budget parameters,
but not the values, listed above can apply to all technologies and frequencies. For instance, the loss
associated with the transmission line is dependent upon the frequency of operation, but not that it
will be used for CDMA instead of GSM.
The following figure demonstrates the impact to the quantity of sites required if one assumption is
made over another. The figure only shows 5 examples. There are many other combinations that are
possible.
There are many RF propagation factors which could extend or restrict the coverage of a site (e.g.
proximity to buildings, actual terrain, antenna heights, topology, morphology, etc.). More detailed
propagation models, which include some or all of these factors, will produce more accurate
predictions of cell radii. The following sections give additional detail concerning statistical
propagation models.
The free space power received by a receiver antenna, which is at a distance of d from the transmitter
antenna, is given by the Friis free space equation.
λ 2
P R = P T ⋅ G T ⋅ G R ⋅ ---------- [EQ 4-30]
4πd
The path loss, which represents the signal attenuation as a positive quantity, is defined as the
difference between the effective transmitted power and the received power. It may or may not
include the effects of the antenna gains. The path loss for the free space model, when the antennas
are assumed to have unity gain, is provided by the following equation.
P 4πd 2 4πdf 2
-----T- = ---------- = ------------ [EQ 4-31]
PR λ c
Expressed in dB as:
PT
L FS ( dB ) = 10 log ------ = 20 log ------ + 20 log ( f ) + 20 log ( d )
4π
[EQ 4-32]
P R c
Where:
d is in meters
f is in Hertz
The above free space equations show that 6 dB of loss is associated with a doubling of the
frequency. This same relationship also holds for the distance, if the distance is doubled, 6 dB of
additional loss will be encountered.
Among the many technical reports that are concerned with propagation prediction methods for
mobile radio, Okumura’s6 report is believed to be the most comprehensive one. In his report, many
useful curves to predict a median value of the received signal strength are presented based on the
data collected in the Tokyo area. The Tokyo urban area was then used as a basic predictor for urban
areas. The correction factors for suburban and open areas are determined based on the transmit
frequency. Based on Okumura’s prediction curves, empirical formulas for the median path loss,
Lp, between two isotropic antennas were obtained by Hata and are known as the Hata empirical
formulas for path loss7. The Hata propagation formulas are used with the link budget calculation
to translate a path loss value to a cell radius.
L U = 69.55 + 26.16 × log ( f c ) – 13.82 × log ( H b ) – A Hm + [ 44.9 – 6.55 × log ( H b ) ] × log ( r ) [EQ 4-38]
fc 2
L S = L U – 2 × log ------ – 5.4 [EQ 4-39]
28
2
L q = L U – 4.78 × [ log ( f c ) ] + 18.33 × log ( f c ) – 35.94 [EQ 4-40]
2
L q = L U – 4.78 × [ log ( f c ) ] + 18.33 × log ( f c ) – 40.94 [EQ 4-41]
Where:
AHm Correction Factor For Vehicular Station Antenna Height
For a medium-small city:
A Hm = [ 1.1 × log ( f c ) – 0.7 ] × H m – [ 1.56 × log ( f c ) – 0.8 ] [EQ 4-42]
6. Okumura, Y., Ohmori, E., Kawano, T., Fukada, K.: "Field strength and ITs Variability in VHF and UHF
Land-Mobile Radio Service", Rev. Elec. Commun. Lab., 16 (1968), pp. 825-873
7. Hata, M.: "Empirical formula for propagation loss in land mobile radio services", IEEE Trans. on Vehicu-
lar and Technology, VT-29 (1980), pp. 317-325
This model is valid for large and small cells (i.e. base station antenna heights above roof-top levels
of buildings adjacent to the base station).
The COST 231 Subgroup on Propagation Models proposed an improved propagation model for
urban areas to be applied above 1500 MHz8. Like Hata’s model, the COST-231-Hata model is
based on the measurements of Okumura. The COST-231-Hata propagation model has been derived
by analyzing Okumura’s propagation curves in the upper frequency band. Hata’s analysis was
restricted to frequencies below 1000 MHz. The COST-231-Hata propagation model extended the
range of parameters to include 1500 to 2000 MHz. Their modified model was based on Hata’s
formula for the basic transmission loss in urban areas (see above).
L U = 46.3 + 33.9 × log ( f c ) – 13.82 × log ( H b ) – A Hm + [ 44.9 – 6.55 × log ( H b ) ] × log ( r ) [EQ 4-44]
fc 2
L S = L U – 2 × log ------ – 5.4 [EQ 4-45]
28
2
L q = L U – 4.78 × [ log ( f c ) ] + 18.33 × log ( f c ) – 35.94 [EQ 4-46]
2
L q = L U – 4.78 × [ log ( f c ) ] + 18.33 × log ( f c ) – 40.94 [EQ 4-47]
8. COST 231 - UHF Propagation, "Urban transmission loss models for mobile radio in the 900- and 1,800-
MHz bands", COST 231 TD (91) 73 The Hagne, September, 1991
This model is valid for large and small cells (i.e. base station antenna heights above roof-top levels
of buildings adjacent to the base station).
A comparison between the Hata and COST-231-Hata equations show that they are similar except
for the following terms:
Measurements which have been taken at 1900 MHz have shown the path loss difference between
800 MHz and 1900 MHz closer to 11 dB. The COST-231-Hata model was developed to account
for this difference.
The above propagation models are widely known and are usually referenced when conversing in
more general terms. Numerous books can be referenced for further discussion on these models,
such as those listed in references9,10.
9. Parsons, David, "The Mobile Radio Propagation Channel", Copyright 1992, Reprinted 1996 by John Wiley
& Sons Ltd.
10. Rappaport, Theodore S., "Wireless Communications Principles & Practices", Copyright 1996 by Prentice
Hall PTR
One model that does include these effects is the Xlos propagation model in Nokia Siemens
Networks’ IDGP propagation analysis tool. This propagation model is based on work from
Longley & Rice, Okumura, Bullington and Nokia Siemens Networks’ extensive field measurement
data. It takes into account the effects of ground reflections, diffractions and line of sight
propagation. It defines the path loss with respect to dipole antennas. Hata or COST-231-Hata
propagation models assume path loss is defined with respect to isotropic antennas.
In Section 4.2, the CDMA subscriber-to-base link (reverse or uplink) was discussed. This is a
many-to-one link, where many subscribers communicate with a single base station (or a fixed
number of base stations). Hence, the link can be simply characterized using a link budget with
additional margin included for interference. This margin is typically measured in terms of noise
rise at the cell, which is specified in terms of the operating point relative to a fixed asymptotic
capacity (pole) (e.g. operating at 75% of the pole results in a 6 dB noise rise).
The CDMA base-to-subscriber (forward or downlink) is a one-to-many link, where a single base
station (or a fixed number of base stations) communicates with many subscribers. This link is
somewhat more complicated to analyze, and it does not lend itself easily to a simple RF link budget
method. The reason for the difficulty is:
• In the absence of multipath, the use of orthogonal Walsh codes on the downlink removes
the intra-cell interference. With multipath, intra-cell interference causes a reduction in
signal-to-noise ratio. However, this is mitigated (in most cases) by the fact that
multipath improves the subscriber receiver sensitivity.
• Subscriber receiver sensitivity is characterized in terms of Eb/(Ioc+No), energy-per-bit
over other-cell interference (plus noise) power density. It is assumed that there is
sufficient power allocated on the downlink such that thermal noise does not significantly
affect the performance. It has been determined by link budget analysis that 2.4 Watts
pilot power is sufficient to balance the uplink and downlink of an IS-2000 1X system.
This analysis assumed CSM5000 demodulator Base Station receiver performance,
forward Radio Configuration 3 (RC 3), subscriber noise figure = 10 dB, base noise
figure = 5 dB, and subscriber PA power of 200 mW.
Though a forward link budget is not addressed, it is important to account for the power
requirements when designing (simulation studies) and optimizing a CDMA system. Forward link
power at the base station may limit coverage and capacity. The following sections provide some
guidelines to assist the system engineer.
In these guidelines, two PA parameters are frequently referred to: the Average Rated Power (ARP
or Steady State Rating) and the High Power Alarm Rating (HPA). Another PA related term is
“Trunk Group”. Trunk Group refers to all the sector-carriers that are amplified by the same PA.
For 4812T frames, each carrier is a trunk group. For 4812T-MC frames (not using 9071A separate
sub-bands) and single band 7224 frames, all the sector-carriers in a frame are one trunk group. For
a 7224 dual band frame, each band is a trunk group. For UBS, coherently combined XMIs and their
sector-carriers, belong to the same trunk group. There is a trunk group for each uncombined or non-
coherently combined XMI on UBS.
The Flexi CDMA BTS RFM has 3 RF paths per module. Each RF path is a trunk group.
The table below is neither comprehensive nor, necessarily, current; refer to equipment
specifications for details on the Base Transmission Station (BTS) product of interest.
a. The High Power Alarm Rating (dB) is represented here in terms of dB above the Average Rated Power.
The alarm usually occurs after 2 seconds at the HPA rating.
b. This is a TrunkedPowerTM BTS. It has multiple Trunked LPA modules serving one or more three-sector
carriers. Its ARP is shared across all three sectors. (A six-sector carrier is served by two sets of Trunked
LPA modules.) The High Power Alarm functions on a total power basis, as opposed to an individual
sector-carrier basis as for non-trunked BTSs.
e. These models use a coherent combiner that allows trunking together up to 4 XMI modules.
f. These models may or may not use a coherent combiner to trunk together up to 2 XMI modules. If a
coherent combiner is not used, only one XMI can be used.
h. This model does not use a coherent combiner. Each XMI is a trunk group.
i. If DO carriers are equipped in the trunk group, the average rated power is reduced by 0.7 dB.
j. This model uses a cavity combiner. Each XMI is a trunk group.
k. Each RFM has 3 trunk groups. Each Flexi CDMA BTS can have 1 or 2 RFMs.
The following table illustrates the EV-DO pilot RF power adjustment range capability for several
different CDMA BTS products. An external attenuator is required when operating at lower than
the minimum specification. The table below is neither comprehensive nor, necessarily, current;
refer to equipment specifications for details on the BTS product of interest.
The minimum pilot power for 4812T-MC BTS frames is dependent on the number of CLPA
modules.
The minimum operating power for a sector-carrier for an 800 MHz or 1.9 GHz SC4812T-MC BTS
is 26 dBm. If the number of CLPA modules is greater than the number of sector-carriers, the
following equation should be used:
The sector-carrier minimum operating power may include paging and sync channels in addition to
the pilot channel. Minimum sector-carrier power can be calculated as follows:
Note: If the minimum sector-carrier power is used and one or more sector-carriers goes OOS, a low
power alarm could be triggered.
The maximum pilot power for 4812T-MC BTS frames is also dependent on the number of CLPA
modules. The maximum pilot power for a 4812T-MC BTS 800 MHz or 4812T-MC BTS 1.9 GHz
frame in dBm can be determined by the following equation:
Where:
Where:
4.4.1.3 UBS Max Pilot Power for Mix of 1X and DO Carriers (does not apply to M810)
Additional factors that will have an impact on the power amplifier are:
• The use of external duplexers should be accounted for by including an additional 0.5 dB
of loss, nominally. For SC4800-series “E” options (i.e. outdoor products), 4812T-Lite,
SC7224, SC480 with cCLPA, UBS and the M810, duplexers are included and the
specifications will already reflect the duplexer loss.
• Products exploiting PA trunking across sectors (e.g. SC4812T) have both sector-carrier
and site-carrier limits of which to be aware. For example, a three-sector SC4812T at
either 800 MHz or 1900 MHz can deliver 67.5 Watts total for the site-carrier, but is rated
for 22.5 Watts with equal sharing for an individual sector-carrier (not including duplexer
loss).
• Verify that the Pilot, Page, Sync, and Traffic Channel power relationships can be
established. Although the PA may be rated to deliver the desired total power output,
other devices may limit the input signals into the LPA or the ratios among them. For
example, there are gain limits on the Paging, Sync, and Traffic channels of 127 (7FHEX).
Pilot gain can not be changed and is always be set to 127.
• Account for any thermal limitations. Typically for indoor products, the operating
temperature range is 0°C to 50°C. The ARP is expressed in dBm or Watts at 25°C, the
midpoint in the temperature range. An allowance for variation due to temperature is
provided. For example, the 800 MHz SC4812T specification is as follows:
Transmitter Sector Output Power with equal power sharing per sector (non-duplexed):
43.5 dBm (22.5 W) @25°C ±2 dB over temperature.
The following table shows the allowable 1X/EV-DO carrier combinations and power levels per
For C25 and later, Table 4-13 shows allowable 1X/EV-DO carrier combinations and power levels
per XMI.
Table 4-13: C25 and Later, Max 1.9-UBS Power Levels in Various Carrier Configurations
1X Carriers EVDO Carriers
# RatedPwr Pilot Pwr Pilot Pwr # RatedPwr Pilot Pwr RatioDO/ Combiner
(W) (W) (dBm) (W) (dBm) 1X (dB)
0 0 - - 1 to 3 15.0 41.8 - WITHOUT
0 0 - - 4 11.3 40.5 - WITHOUT
1 16.0 2.4 33.8 1 to 2 15.0 41.8 -0.28 WITHOUT
1 13.0 2.0 32.9 3 12.2 40.9 -0.28 WITHOUT
2 16.0 2.4 33.8 1 15.0 41.8 -0.28 WITHOUT
2 14.1 2.1 33.3 2 13.2 41.2 -0.29 WITHOUT
3 15.4 2.3 33.6 1 14.5 41.6 -0.26 WITHOUT
1 to 4 16.0 2.4 33.8 0 0 - - WITHOUT
The following table shows allowable 1X/EV-DO carrier combinations and power levels for a
single XMI at 800 MHz.
When replacing a 4812T or a 4812T-MC frame with a UBS-Macro frame, the 1X and DO
SifPilotPwr levels will need to be adjusted to obtain the same coverage.
When an operator sets 1X and DO SifPilotPwr levels, the reference point where SifPilotPwr is
measured is at the frame output. There is a difference in what is included in the power reference
point between 4812T/4812T-MC and UBS-Macro frames.
The 4812T/4812T-MC frames do not include duplexers and interconnecting cables in the power
reference point. The UBS-Macro frames include duplexers in the power reference point. Thus, the
power supplied to the antenna feed line is reduced by the duplexer and interconnecting cable loss
in the 4812T/4812T-MC case. The power supplied to the antenna feed line is NOT reduced by the
duplexer and interconnecting cable loss in the UBS case.
If a 4812T/4812T-MC is replaced with a UBS-Macro frame and the SifPilotPwr levels are not
changed, the power levels at the antenna will be approximately 0.8 dB higher than the 4812T/
4812T-MC case. As a result, coverage of the new UBS frame may be larger than the previous
4812T/4812T-MC frame. So, it is recommended to set all UBS 1X and DO SifPilotPwr levels 0.8
dB lower than the previously installed 4812T/4812T-MC frames.
Note:
• For UBS-Macro frames, the SifPilotPwr levels for non-rural BTSs should not be set
higher than 33.0 dBm for 1X carriers. For EV-DO carriers in UBS-Macro frames, the
SifPilotPwr levels should never be set higher than 41.8 dBm. If a UBS-Macro frame is
replacing a 4812T/4812T-MC frame that had an EV-DO carrier with a SifPilotPwr of
41.8 dBm, the EV-DO SifPilotPwr for the UBS-Macro frame should be set to 41.0 dBm
to obtain the same coverage.
• For releases R22.0 and beyond, feature FR8990, Fixed Trunk and Sector Group
Limiting, should be enabled to prevent overdriving the XMIs, which would lead to an
XMI shutdown. For more information on Fixed Trunk Group Limiting and Fixed
There are three characteristics of the CDMA signal power distribution that are useful in discussions
on PA requirements, which can be compared to PA equipment capabilities. These include:
1. The Long Term Average (LT-AVG): represents an average over 30 minutes or more.
For the PA to be sized correctly, the LT-AVG must be less than or equal to the Average
Rated Power (ARP).
2. The Short Term Average (ST-AVG): represents an average over 5 minutes. It may prove
useful, as a rule of thumb, to compare the ST-AVG to the ARP. Greater detail on this
can be found in the next section.
3. The Very Short Term Average (VST-AVG): represents an average over less than 2
seconds. For the PA to be sized correctly, the VST-AVG must be less than or equal to
the High Power Alarm Rating.
Note that any peak excursions significantly higher than the VST-AVG are of very short
duration and are managed by PA overload protection mechanisms.
As a result of various simulation studies and field data, the following characteristics of a system
that is interference limited (i.e. fully loaded) have been derived and may be considered rules of
thumb:
Given the deviation of the power distribution, the system designer will generally find the indoor
products (i.e. SC4812 series, SC7224, and UBS) and the outdoor products with fans (SC4812ET/
ET Lite and UBS with an Environmental Enclosure) to be High Power Alarm (HPA) limited. Since
Based on analysis of field data, RC3 uses 5.0 to 6.5% pilot power for each traffic channel. This is
very typical as a system wide average power. RC3 power requirements depend on where the users
are with respect to the BTS. It is best to locate BTSs close to high user densities in order to
minimize the power per user, maximize the site user capacity, and minimize the interference to the
surrounding sites. RC4 requires an extra 10% power, but has twice the Walsh code capacity. For
Rate Set 1 (RC1), ~13.5% of the Pilot power would be consumed on average. For Rate Set 2 (RC2),
~27.8%. IS-2000 forward link RC 3, RC 4, and RC 5 have up to twice the Forward Link capacity
of IS-95A/B; therefore, the average TCH powers in these modes are approximately 1/2 the RC1
value. [Greater detail on these estimates can be found in Section 4.4.5.] The number of forward
links associated with this estimate is the 98th percentile of forward links and would include soft/
softer links (i.e. 2% Erlang B on Walsh code usage). This would also correspond to the ST-AVG.
The RC1 and RC2 traffic channels correspond to the fundamental rates of 9600 bps and 14400 bps
modes of RC 1 and RC 2 of IS-2000. The IS-2000 1X BTS will also support RC 3, RC 4, and RC
5. These Radio Configurations employ different error correcting schemes, and offer higher data
rates than RC 1 and RC 2 (up to 153,600 bps will be supported in RC 3 and RC 4). In general, data
rates higher than 14400 bps will require proportionately higher traffic channel powers (and lower
traffic channel capacities) than discussed above.
There is a level of Pilot power which will balance the reverse link. To increase the Pilot power
beyond this level will not significantly improve the composite area reliability, since the reverse link
becomes limiting. For this reason, it is recommended that the Pilot powers be designed to levels
sufficient to balance the reverse link, but not excessively so as to conserve the PA resource. The
recommended pilot power is 2.4 W, because it balances the link budget.
The introduction of a tower-top amplifier will improve the reverse link by effectively negating the
losses between the antenna and the top of the rack (approximately 3 to 4 dB, refer back to
Section 4.2.3.2.1). This improvement would necessitate a compensatory increase in forward power
to balance the links. When a TTA is introduced under the assumption of light loading (e.g.
“highway site”), it is more likely that the links can be balanced. It is not recommended to use TTAs
elsewhere.
When initially designing a CDMA system, 2.4 Watts is the recommended pilot power for all BTSs,
since it balances the reverse link. Testing shows it is better to run using balanced Forward/Reverse
paths in order to maximize in building penetration in dense urban areas and coverage in rural areas.
Nokia Siemens Networks’ IDGP CDMA Simulator (or comparable design tool) can be utilized to
generate statistics for a CDMA design. These statistics can be analyzed to determine if any sectors
will have a potential PA issue.
For conventionally powered BTS products (i.e. no sharing of PA resources across multiple sectors
and/or carriers), it is only necessary to determine the LT-AVG and VST-AVG requirements for the
sector-carrier and then compare them with the ARP and HPA ratings, respectively. The ratings
must exceed the requirements.
1 Determine the LT-AVG and VST-AVG requirements over the appropriate set of sector-
carriers over which the PA resource is shared (i.e the Trunk Group) and then compare
them with the ARP and HPA ratings, respectively. The ratings must exceed the
requirements.
2 Determine the LT-AVG requirement for each individual sector-carrier and then compare
this with the ARP rating for a sector-carrier. The rating must exceed the requirement.
As has been stated earlier, the SC4812T is rated for 22.5 Watts ARP with equal sharing in any
individual sector-carrier and 67.5 Watts total for 3 sectors of 1 carrier (not including duplexer loss).
For a 4812T-MC, the ARP per sector-carrier, assuming equal sharing with other sector-carriers in
the trunk group, is equal to the max power from Table 4-8 divided by the number of sector-carriers.
The following steps can be performed to obtain the LT-AVG for the sector-carrier(s) which can be
compared with the product ARP specification (for many products, these values are provided in
Table 4-8).
1. Take the average of the TCH power distribution. For trunked PAs, generate the average
for the individual sector-carrier for comparison against sector-carrier ARP limits and
then again for all the sector-carriers over which the resource is to be shared for
comparison against total ARP limits. For the total ARP comparison, the power statistics
must first be summed across the appropriate set of sector-carriers within each Monte
Carlo run. Although this will not impact the average, it will impact the deviation.
2. Add in the constant power components associated with the Pilot, Page, and Sync
channels.
3. Compare this with the ARP of the PA. It must be lower.
Note: to compare the ST-AVG to the ARP, use the 98th percentile of the TCH power distribution.
The following steps can be performed to obtain the VST-AVG for the sector-carrier(s) which can
be compared with the product HPA specification (for some products, these values are provided in
Table 4-8).
1. Determine the 98th percentile of the TCH power distribution. For trunked PAs, generate
the average for all the sector-carriers over which the resource is to be shared for
comparison against total HPA limits. The power statistics must first be summed across
the appropriate set of sector-carriers within each Monte Carlo run. The 98th percentile is
then taken across the summed set of statistics.
2. Scale it up by a factor of 1.5. This compensates for variations in the voice activity factor
(up to a level that corresponds to the 98th percentile of the binomial distribution).
3. Add in the constant power components associated with the Pilot, Page, and Sync
channels.
4. Compare this with the High Power Alarm Rating. It should be lower.
In the absence of more precise simulations, here are some definitions and equations that can be
used to provide power requirements as a function of Rate Set, pilot power, and number of forward
links.
Definitions:
• Ppilot is the Pilot power.
• Ppage is the Page power (commonly 75% of P_pilot w/ Pilot gain of 110 or 50% w/ Pilot
gain of 90).
• Psync is the Sync power (commonly 10% of P_pilot).
• FwdLinks50th-%ile is equivalent to Walsh code Erlangs. It can be derived from the
Effective Traffic Load using the Soft/Softer Handoff Factor.
• FwdLinks98th-%ile is equivalent to the number of Walsh codes that result from taking
Walsh code Erlangs at 2% Erlang B.
• Veff (Effective Voice Activity Factor) is scaled up from the normal VAF (Voice
Activity Factor) to compensate for Power Control Bit puncturing on the forward link.
The PCB bits are transmitted at a constant high power to maintain the integrity of the
closed loop power control mechanism. Scaling the VAF is one method of compensating
Assume:
The following equations can be used to determine the minimum ARP specification based on the
Pilot power and the average number of links.
AverageRatedPower = P Pilot + P Page + P Sync + FwdLink 50th-%ile × P tch_avg × V eff [EQ 4-51]
RC3:
RC4:
Notes:
1. To compare the ST-AVG to the ARP, use FwdLinks98th-%ile in place of FwdLinks50th-
%ile
2. Formulas for Rate Set 1 and 2 also apply to RC 1 and RC 2 respectively.
The following equations can be used to determine the minimum HPA specification based on Ppilot
and FwdLinks98th-%ile.
HighPowerAlarmRating = P Pilot + P Page + P Sync + FwdLink 98th-%ile × P tch_avg × V eff × V wc [EQ 4-54]
RC4:
Alternatively, an upper estimate on FwdLinks98th-%ile can be determined based on the HPA rating
and Ppilot. This may serve as a Walsh code limit that will block traffic at levels that near the HPA
rating.
RC3:
RC4:
On systems where carrier load management features are not enabled, an LPA module which
exceeds its High Power Alarm Rating will enter an OOS_RAM maintenance state. The
consequences and possible operational response to this event were outlined in FYI No. SCCDM-
1997.84 March 20, 1997. LPA modules in systems having these features installed will not enter
OOS_RAM.
If OOS_RAM events are occurring, the following design and optimization options could be taken:
• Add more PA power. Depending upon the BTS product and the installed configuration,
there may be an ability to add an additional PA module.
• Re-optimize the pilot power to a lower level. Be careful to review the potential
consequences on coverage. If the sites involved have the potential for significant
overlap, then lowering pilot powers may be the appropriate response.
• Re-optimize the forward power control parameters. For example, reducing the Nominal
Traffic Channel Gain can reduce the overall output power and PA requirements.
With feature 1225B, a Fixed Power Threshold (dBm) sets the maximum output allowed per sector/
carrier and will limit the LPAs providing power to that sector/carrier. This parameter is used only
when the system has the Activate Fixed Overload Protection parameter enabled. This attribute
establishes a high water mark at which the CDMA transceivers will actively reduce gain if this
power threshold is exceeded for the given sector/carrier.
With feature 415B, the decision by the mobility manager (MM) to allocate a Walsh code or channel
element for subscriber originations and terminations is conditional upon the RF load in the forward
and reverse directions on the carrier selected for an allocation attempt.
The Group Line Interface (GLI) or Digital Module Internal (DMI) card at each BTS is responsible
for gathering real time forward and reverse link quality data from the traffic channel elements and
CDMA transceivers within each sector-carrier under its control. Forward and reverse channel RF
quality information is sent to the MM via SCAP (Application Protocol) messaging and used by the
MM to make decisions about whether or not to allow new call channel allocation within a sector-
carrier and to load balance channel allocation among carriers within a particular sector.
The GLI or DMI will also set a flag in the SCAP measurement report when the sector-carrier's
CDMA transceiver exceeds a user defined power output. The MM will deny origination/
terminations in the sector-carrier until the flag is cleared in a subsequent SCAP message.
The GLI or DMI will also calculate the actual power being used by each sector-carrier's CDMA
transceiver, as well as the total power output of the LPA associated with the sector-carrier, and
forward the information to the MM via the periodic SCAP RF metrics reporting messages. This
data is for statistics collection and not used by the MM to make channel allocation decisions.
With feature 4472C (available starting with CBSC Release 16.0), in addition to gathering real-time
forward and reverse link quality data from the traffic channel elements and CDMA transceivers
within each sector-carrier under its control, the RF Load Manager at each BTS is responsible for
using the measured forward TCH and SCH power and reverse RNR for each sector-carrier to
provide near real-time updates of forward and reverse load conditions to the Time Slice Manager.
The Time Slice Manager is a BTS based mechanism to schedule data activity in a series of small
periods of time to maximize use of the forward and reverse power capacity.
The RF Load Manager will also inhibit supplemental allocation in the sector-carrier when the
sector-carrier's CDMA transceiver exceeds a user-defined fixed limit power output or if the sector-
carrier's LPA is in gain limiting mode due to an LPA overload condition.
In R22, FR8990, Fixed Trunk and Sector Group Limiting has been added. This feature provides a
Once enabled, Fixed Trunk Group limiting protects the LPA(s) from being overdriven. Unlike
FR1225B, Fixed Sector-Carrier Limiting, FR8990 only limits once the power capability of the
LPA or Sector have been reached. There are no thresholds to set. They thresholds are dervied
automatically according to the power capability of the LPA. Fixed Sector Group Limiting is only
used for SC7224 and UBS Macro frames. Sector Group Limiting has a threshold of 160 W and is
designed to protect the IDRF from too much power. Refer to the FR8990 DFD for more
information. For more information on Fixed Trunk Group Limiting and Fixed Sector-Carrier
Limiting, refer to the "Fixed Power Limiting - LPA Overload Protection Optimization" (document
number wp316145769) available at https://online.portal.nokiasiemensnetworks.com. Search by
the document number to locate the document.
For SC4812T-MC, SC480, and UBS, it is possible for 1X and DO carriers to share the same LPA
i.e. be in the same trunk group. To make sure that the LPA is not overburdened, power allocation
needs to be done. The power of a 1X carrier can be approximated by SifPilotPwr in Watts
multiplied by a factor that represent the ratio of SifPilotPwr to total sector-carrier power. The
power of a DO sector-carrier is just the DOSifPilotPwr. Unlike 1X, DOSifPilotPwr represents the
fully loaded sector-carrier power and needs no further adjustment.
[EQ 4-59]
TotalTrunkGroupPower = 1XSifPilotPwrWn *MaxPower _To_Pilot_Ratio +
DOSifPilotPwrWm
Where:
Certain government rules and regulations may exist which prohibit an operator from transmitting
an excess of power. For instance, the FCC regulations limit the Base Station output power to 1640
Watts EIRP per carrier for PCS systems. Knowing the maximum power for a sector at the top of
the rack, this FCC limit will translate into a limit on antenna gain offset by cable losses. For
example, the three-sector SC4812T is rated for 45 Watts maximum for a sector-carrier.
Consequently, the maximum gain permitted between the top of the rack and the effective radiated
power would be Gmax:
The RF system designer is advised to determine if any regulations exist in the area of their system.
In R19, FR9235, Power Amplifier Operational Measurements, introduced some PM pegs to aid the
operator in determining whether or when additional PA resources were required for a BTS.
FR9235 provides peak and average power out readings for each sector-carrier for 1X or DO
capable BTSs, and trunk group peak and average power out readings for trunked PA BTSs, at 30
minute intervals. Indicators of the power capacity utilization are also provided. To summarize, here
are the power measurements provided:
The peak and average power out readings provided are based on 2 second average power
measurements taken at 2 second intervals throughout the 30 minute interval. The reported average
power is the average of the 900 sample points, and the peak power is the largest value of the 900
sample points, in the 30 minute interval. For trunk group measurements the results are derived from
the sum of the individual sector-carrier measurements.
FR9235 also provides peak and average power utilization. Peak and Average power utilization is
calculated by dividing the peak and average powers by the sector-carrier or trunk group rated
power. Trunk group power is determined by multiplying the number of PA modules
(NUMMODULES) in the trunk group by the rated power (RATEDPWR) of each LPA module.
The GLI determines NUMMODULES by looking up the number of LPA modules equipped for a
trunk group. RATEDPWR is defaulted at the OMCR based on frame type, bandclass and PA type.
In a small number of cases, RATEDPWR may have to be entered manually. For the UBS,
The peak and average power values are in milliwatts and the feature is enabled at the BTS level.
The power measurements are only provided for packet backhaul configurations.
The sector-carrier and trunked group average and peak transmit power can be used in the
determination of both current utilization and for the forecasting of carrier exhaustion using
trending techniques. This allows better utilization of infrastructure investment and can be used for
network optimization to identify areas which lag in power utilization. The information could also
be used as loading input for system design/simulation software to improve modeling results.
Because Trunked LPAs can share power among the sector-carriers that it amplifies, the LPA
capacity is really the total power out the LPA can deliver. Thus, LPA usage is best represented by
the sum of all the sector-carrier powers rather than by the power of each sector-carrier. The trunk
group peak and average power measurements are a good indication of how much of the LPA
capacity is being used.
FR9235 applies to SC™4812- series, SC480, SC™7224, and UBS BTSs. The trunk group PM
pegs are only for SC™4812- series, SC™7224, and UBS BTSs.
Repeaters have been successfully deployed in CDMA markets. By carefully following the
guidelines provided by the repeater vendor, it should be possible to deploy a repeater to enhance
system coverage for most repeater applications. The following sections provide considerations
regarding the design, installation, optimization, and maintenance of a repeater system. All of the
repeater information provided should be evaluated prior to deciding upon a specific repeater
application.
The following sections provide useful information that should be considered during the design
phase of a repeater deployment.
CDMA system coverage can be traded off for more capacity. This is reflected in the link budget of
the reverse link by determining the acceptable interference margin allowed, which will determine
the reverse link coverage. By designing the system with a relatively small interference margin, less
users can be supported, but a larger coverage area is supported. For a relatively larger interference
margin, more users can be supported, but for a smaller coverage area. Similarly on the forward link,
it is the required PA power that is used to determine the desired mixture of coverage and capacity.
For a given load, a smaller coverage area produces a smaller PA power requirement, while a larger
coverage area produces a larger PA power requirement. For a given coverage area, the required PA
power is directly proportional to the load. This relationship is maintained up to the point where the
system becomes forward link interference limited, such that increasing PA power does not
maintain or improve SNR.
In some cases, it is desirable to use transceivers called repeaters (see Figure 4-14) to boost CDMA
signals, which in effect spreads the capacity of the BTS to a larger coverage area. This is especially
useful in areas where the signal from the BTS is blocked by some kind of RF obstruction. In this
case, a repeater can be used between the donor BTS and the served subscriber to boost the signals.
The repeater helps to get both the BTS and subscriber signals around or through such RF
obstructions.
BTS Cell
Coverage Subscriber
Antenna
Donor Repeater
Antenna Coverage
Base
Station Repeater
Repeaters can typically be used to provide improved coverage for the following applications:
terrain limited coverage, in-building coverage, and tunnel/subway/parking garage/underground
coverage. Using repeaters in this way maintains the coverage of the donor BTS while eliminating
the need for another BTS (assuming the donor BTS has enough capacity availability to accept the
additional load from the repeater). This is economical as long as the repeater is significantly
cheaper than the type of BTS to be added (in comparison to a macro-cell, micro-cell, or pico-cell)
and/or the site costs are less expensive. In the overlap areas of coverage between the donor BTS
and the repeater, there is enough delay in the repeater signal path such that the subscriber can
Another application for repeaters are to use them to extend the range of a CDMA cell site or sector
for the case where there is no RF obstruction, such as down a highway. For this type of application,
the range extension obtained is largely limited by the following:
• How much the repeater desensitizes the base station (for maximizing range of the
repeater, typically a 3 dB desense of the donor BTS allows optimum range of the BTS &
repeater combination). Note: maximizing overall coverage of the BTS and repeater will
cause a 3 dB desense reduction in the donor BTS’s range.
• The cascaded noise figure at the repeater (determined by the noise figures of the repeater
and base station including the transmission gain between them).
• Repeater receiver sensitivity on the reverse link and ability to maintain diversity
reception back at the donor base station (repeater with transmit diversity is used for link
back to donor base station to compensate for repeater not having diversity reception and
rake receiver for subscriber to repeater link).
• The effect of the loss of soft handoff of the donor site at the repeater location.
• The size of the repeater PA used on its forward link (typically 6 Watts).
Given these assumptions, it has been determined that approximately 24-26% increase in range
extension may be achieved by using existing commercial repeaters (see Figure 4-15).
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
CSM CSM
CSM 17dBi CSM 23dBi EMA XX 17dBi EMA XX 23dBi
TTA .17dBi TTA .23dBi
Rev Link Inc reas e 26% 26% 26% 26% 24% 24%
Fw d Link Inc r eas e 58% 59% 35% 38% 10% 13%
Sys te m C o n f ig u r atio n
Figure 4-15 shows the percent improvement in range due to adding a repeater (normalized to the
BTS range without the repeater) for different BTS donor configurations. This analysis used a
typical noise figure value of 4.5 dB. For a guaranteed coverage calculation or prediction, it may be
necessary to use the six sigma value for the noise figure specification which is usually 1.5 to 2.5
dB higher than the typical value. A 20Watt LPA was assumed for all cases above. The dBi numbers
• The total loss/gain is the same between the forward and reverse links
• The forward link loss/gain is measured from the Forward Tx output of the base station to
the Forward Tx output of the repeater
• The reverse link loss/gain is measured from the Reverse Rx input of the repeater to the
Reverse Rx input of the base station
• The base and repeater antennas have the same cable losses and antenna gains serving the
subscribers
Figure 4-16: Alternate Repeater Analysis
B T S a n d R e p e a te r R X R a n g e
3 .2 6 R F p ro p lo s s
B T S lo se s -4 d B so ft h a n d o ff g a in R e p e a te r lo s e s -1 d B fa d in g to B T S - 0 .5 d B E c /Io F in g e rs
L in k L o s s = P a th L o s s + C a b le L o s se s + An te n n a G a in s+ R e p e a te r G a in
As su m p tio n
P a th Lo ss R e ve rs e L in k R e p e a te r to B T S = F o rw a rd L in k B T S to R e p e a te r
M ob ile to B T S
P a th Lo ss
Repeater Forward TX power relative to BTS
M o b ile to R e p ea te r
d ista nc e B T S d ista n ce R e pe a te r
0 .0
- 5 .0
-1 0 .0
-1 5 .0
-2 0 .0
0 .0 0 0 .1 0 0 .2 0 0 .3 0 0 .4 0 0 .5 0 0 .6 0 0 .7 0 0 .8 0 0 .9 0 1 .0 0 1 .1 0 1 .2 0 1 .3 0 1 .4 0 1 .5 0 1 .6 0 1 .7 0 1 .8 0 1 .9 0 2 .0 0
N o rm a liz e d R X C e ll c o ve ra g e re fe re n c e d to B T S n o is e fig u re
The Y axis in Figure 4-16 represents the difference in repeater forward Tx power relative to the
BTS power plus the difference in the repeater forward Tx gain relative to the repeater reverse Rx
gain. This is identical to that of Figure 4-25. In a maximum range extension application, the
repeater Tx and Rx gains are typically equal and thus cancel themselves out. As a result, the title
in the above figure only mentions the difference in repeater to BTS Tx powers. This alternate
analysis also shows a ~26% increase in range. An interesting point to note is that in this type of
repeater configuration (maximum range), the donor BTS range is reduced by over 40%, primarily
The calculation of the cascaded noise figure for multiple amplifiers in a cabled system is different
than that for a non-cabled repeater system. The following sections provide an explanation of how
to calculate the cascaded noise figures for both cabled and repeater (non-cabled) systems.
In a multiple amplifier cabled system (i.e. only one antenna input), [EQ 4-20] and [EQ 4-21] can
be used to calculate the cascaded noise figure, if the noise figure (or noise factor) for each of the
individual amplifiers which are connected in series is known.
G1 G2 G3
Input Output
kTB=1
For the example in Figure 4-17 where the noise figures are illustrated by setting the thermal noise,
kTB = 1 (-113 dBm for CDMA), the cascaded noise referenced to the first amplifier input is as
follows (note that all values are linear, not dB).
F2 – 1 F3 – 1
Cascaded Noise @ Input = F1 + ---------------- + ---------------------
G1 G1 • G2
To simplify the calculation, let’s assume that the noise figures for F1, F2, and F3 are 3 dB (2.0
linear) and the gain for G1, G2, and G3 are 10 dB (10 linear). For the example in Figure 4-17, the
cascaded noise at the input is as follows (assuming no cable loss between the amplifiers):
2–1 2–1
Cascaded Noise @ Input = 2 + ------------ + ----------------- = 2.101 = 3.2 dB
10 10 • 10
The reverse link cascaded noise figure for a BTS repeater system can be easier to comprehend if a
few simplifying assumptions are made. First, the total loss/gain is assumed to be the same between
the forward and reverse links. Second, the BTS and repeater antennas have the same cable losses
and antenna gains serving the subscribers. Using the above assumptions, the forward loss/gain is
BTS Repeater
Tx_BTS Pilot = 2 watts Tx_R Pilot = 0.2 watts
Rx_BTS Rx_R
Reverse Loss = 10 dB
For the simple example in Figure 4-18, the repeater Tx pilot is 10 dB lower than the BTS Tx pilot.
Knowledge of the individual components of the forward loss is not required (i.e. the cable losses,
antenna gains, and repeater gain are all hidden to our analysis). Using symmetry between the
forward and reverse links, the reverse loss is also 10 dB. A CDMA subscriber received at the
repeater at a level of -110 dBm will be presented to the BTS receiver at -120 dBm. Using the
simplifying assumptions, the cascaded noise figure looking into the repeater Rx is 10 dB higher
than the cascaded noise figure looking into the BTS Rx.
An important point to note is that a cascaded noise figure calculation for a repeater system (non-
cabled) is not the same as the cascaded cabled amplifier equation. In a repeater system (non-
cabled), [EQ 4-21] cannot be used to calculate the cascaded noise figure. Cascaded amplifiers only
have one antenna input. Therefore, thermal noise (kTB) is only injected at the 1st amplifier input.
Also, subscribers are only received at the 1st amplifier. A repeater and BTS system has two input
antennas. Thermal noise (kTB) and the subscriber signal are injected at both receiver inputs.
Figure 4-19 provides an example of a reverse link cascaded noise figure for a simple repeater
system.
2.2(kTB)
1.0 0.2(kTB) 0.1
As an alternate approach, the calculation of a cascaded noise figure for a repeater system reverse
link can be analyzed as follows (see Figure 4-19). Thermal noise (kTB) is introduced at the
repeater Rx by the source impedance of the antenna. The 3 dB noise figure of the repeater doubles
the noise by adding another kTB. A reverse loss of 10 dB will lower the repeater noise at the BTS
antenna to 0.2(kTB). The BTS receiver antenna and noise figure add another 2(kTB). As a result,
the total noise at the BTS receiver is 2.2(kTB). Thus, the cascaded noise figure is 3.4 dB
(10log(2.2)) looking into the BTS Rx. A simple equation for the cascaded noise figure at the BTS
receiver can be written as follows. All of the variables are in linear units (i.e. 2.2 = 2 + (2 * 0.1)).
Now, a subscriber looking into the repeater receiver will see a different cascaded noise figure than
a subscriber looking into the BTS receiver. Referenced to the repeater receiver input, the 2.2(kTB)
noise at the BTS receiver is ten times (10dB) higher at 22(kTB). As a result, the repeater cascaded
noise figure is 10 dB higher at 13.4 dB (10log(22)). Notice that the 10 dB difference is exactly the
same as the reverse loss. A simple equation for the cascaded noise figure at the repeater receiver
can be written as follows. Again, all variables are linear (i.e. 22 = 2.2 / 0.1).
In this example, the repeater is 10 dB less sensitive than the BTS. For a subscriber signal to be
received at the BTS at -120 dBm, it must received at the repeater at -110 dBm. A subscriber signal
going straight to the BTS would be received at the BTS at -120 dBm.
As a result, the cascaded noise figures for a repeater and base station system are easy to calculate.
They are determined by the repeater and BTS noise figures and the ratio of repeater pilot power to
BTS pilot power. The simplifying assumptions are that the forward and reverse links are balanced.
For unbalanced forward and reverse links or to include the effects of CDMA load, first calculate
the simple cascaded noise figure and then add in the other effects.
For some highway applications where linear range needs to be maximized, a cascaded repeater
system may be a viable choice. Similar to the approach used in Section 4.5.1.1.2, a cascaded
The following calculations are similar to the single repeater example. Thermal noise (kTB) is
introduced at Repeater #2 Rx by the source impedance of the antenna. The 3 dB noise figure of the
repeater doubles the noise by adding another kTB. A reverse loss of 10 dB will lower the repeater
noise at the Repeater #1 antenna to 0.2(kTB). The Repeater #1 receiver antenna and noise figure
add another 2(kTB). Another reverse loss of 10 dB will lower the combined repeater noise at the
BTS antenna to 0.22(kTB). Finally, the BTS receiver antenna and noise figure add another 2(kTB).
As a result, the total noise at the BTS receiver is 2.22(kTB), which produces a cascaded noise
figure of 3.46 dB looking into the BTS Rx. A simple equation for the cascaded noise figure at the
BTS receiver is as follows. All variables are linear (i.e. 2.22 = 2 + (2 * 0.1) + (2 * 0.01)).
Similar to the single repeater example, the cascaded noise figure looking into Repeater #1 and
Repeater #2 are as follows. Referenced to Repeater #1 receiver input, the 2.22(kTB) noise at the
BTS receiver is ten times (10 dB) higher at 22.2(kTB). As a result, the Repeater #1 cascaded noise
figure is 10 dB higher at 13.46 dB. Referenced to Repeater #2 receiver input, the 22.2(kTB) noise
at the Repeater #1 receiver is ten times (10 dB) higher at 222(kTB). As a result, the Repeater #2
cascaded noise figure is 10 dB higher at 23.46 dB. A simple equation for the cascaded noise figure
at the Repeater #1 and #2 receiver is as follows.
It is important to note that the reverse loss for Repeater #2 is the total reverse loss from Repeater
#2 to the BTS (which includes the loss from Repeater #1 to the BTS). For the example given in
Figure 4-20, the total reverse loss from Repeater #2 to the BTS is 20 dB.
The interference and capacity impact of a repeater will most likely depend upon its specific
application and installation/optimization. The interference and capacity impact should be minimal
for a repeater, that is used for a typical application (i.e. to overcome RF obstructions) and that has
been properly installed and optimized. A repeater that has not been properly installed or optimized
can have an impact on the interference and capacity of the donor BTS.
A CDMA repeater application that is set up for maximum range extension can have a significant
capacity impact upon the donor BTS. Since this repeater application is designed to trade-off
capacity for coverage, the donor BTS capacity impact depends upon the amount of interference
margin that is traded-off for coverage. Again, a repeater that has not been properly installed or
optimized for the range extension desired can have a greater capacity impact on the donor BTS than
what it was originally designed for.
In order to reduce the number of BTSs for a new system deployment, a system operator may
consider implementing a wide scale repeater deployment. A system with a wide scale deployment
of repeaters can create multiple paths of interference (direct path from the subscriber, indirect path
through the repeater, and indirect paths through multiple other repeaters). Depending upon the
system design, a system of this type may increase the reverse link noise rise which may decrease
the system capacity. Reverse link simulations of a couple of wide scale repeater design scenarios
have shown a decrease in RF carrier capacity of approximately 9-16%. In order to estimate the
capacity impact, simulations are highly recommended for any specific wide scale repeater
deployment design.
The probability of interference from IM and spectral regrowth are increased with the use of a
repeater. The situation may be worse for repeaters because the repeater receiver will add some
additional amount of IM and regrowth to the signal that is transmitted. The receiver absorbing this
undesired energy at the end of the chain will need to cope with these increased levels of IM and
regrowth.
Depending upon the specific system design (i.e. repeater application, spectrum planning, adjacent
band technology, etc.), additional filtering may be required to minimize the interference between
the repeater and the adjacent band technologies that are being used. The Sideband Noise (SBN)
performance of the repeater may require additional filters to be installed at the repeater site. A
detailed guard band interference analysis should be performed to determine the appropriate guard
band and filter requirements to allow the repeater and the adjacent band technologies to co-exist
If additional filtering is required, the additional space requirements must be taken into account
when designing the repeater site. If two separate filters are required, then the amount of space
required to house and mount the filter hardware needs to be considered. With the potential use of
filters at the CDMA donor BTS, at the receiver input of the repeater, and at the output of the
repeater, the total group delay of the filters can become a concern. Too much group delay will
distort the CDMA waveform, which may cause unacceptable "rho" performance (a measure of
waveform quality). The total maximum group delay must be split between the three filters. Since
the group delay for the built-in filters of the donor BTS and of the repeater are already established,
a lower group delay specification for the additional repeater filter may be required. It may be
difficult to find an economical and compact filter to satisfy the group delay requirements in
addition to the other filter requirements determined from the detailed analysis.
If it has been determined that additional filtering is required, then the cost impact of the additional
filtering should be taken into consideration when designing a repeater site. Since a repeater does
not add any capacity to the system, the additional cost of the filtering should be added to the total
cost analysis to determine if a regular BTS (macro-cell, micro-cell, or pico-cell) may be more
appropriate for the application.
When using repeaters for a typical application to overcome an RF obstruction within a BTS’s
coverage area or for a highway application to maximize linear range extension, it is important to
follow the repeater vendor’s installation engineering guidelines.
Antenna isolation is a critical parameter for an over-the-air repeater system. If the repeater’s
antennas do not have adequate isolation from each other, the repeater’s amplifiers may start
oscillating. Proper donor to subscriber antenna isolation at the repeater may be difficult to achieve
for some applications. The amount of antenna isolation that is normally required is equal to 15 dB
plus the gain of the repeater (refer to the repeater vendor’s recommendation for the actual value to
use). Antenna isolation values of 80 dB (repeater gain = 65 + 15 = 80 dB) or greater are not
uncommon. Since the environmental surroundings and the physical construction of the site can
have an impact, it is highly recommended to actually measure the antenna isolation for each and
every repeater site. The ability to measure the antenna isolation properly and accurately is an
important step in the repeater installation. Do not rely on estimated antenna isolation calculations
to validate the isolation requirements.
The repeater diagram in Figure 4-14 shows the donor antenna at a higher elevation than the
subscriber antenna. This represents a repeater application which takes advantage of vertical
separation between the donor and subscriber antenna in order to achieve the isolation requirements.
Placing the donor antenna at a higher elevation may also provide a direct line-of-sight path to the
BTS Cell
Coverage Repeater
Coverage
Donor
Antenna
Base
Station Repeater
A viable configuration which utilizes horizontal separation along with a barrier is shown in
Figure 4-22. For this application, the building is acting as a physical barrier in order to increase the
attenuation between the antennas, which will increase the antenna isolation.
Donor
Antenna
Base
Station Building
Just as long as the measured isolation and the direct line-of-sight requirements are satisfied, the
optimal antenna locations may depend upon the particular application.
In some cases where vertical and/or horizontal separation does not provide enough antenna
isolation, it may be possible to install custom RF shielding between the donor and subscriber
antennas in order to achieve the desired antenna isolation requirements. RF shields can be
constructed with various materials (hardware cloth, cyclone chain-link fence, metal screen, solid
metal, etc.) and various types of configurations (flat shield, flat shield with corners, curved shield,
etc.). The actual attenuation will depend upon the specific application, but nominal values in the
As an alternate solution, a micro-wave or fiber linked repeater may be used instead of an over-the-
air type repeater. A linked repeater does not have the same antenna isolation requirements as an
over-the-air repeater. An example of a micro-wave linked repeater is shown in Figure 4-23.
Subscriber
Antenna
BTS Cell
Coverage
Micro-wave Link Repeater
Coverage
Base
Station Repeater
Since the micro-wave link is operating at a different frequency and transmitted in a different
format, the isolation between the subscriber antenna and the micro-wave antenna is not as critical
as the over-the-air repeater. An example of a fiber linked repeater is shown in Figure 4-24.
Subscriber
Antenna
BTS Cell
Coverage
Repeater
Coverage
Since the fiber link is not transmitting over the air, antenna isolation is not even a factor for this
repeater application.
The following sections provide information regarding the repeater donor and subscriber antennas.
The repeater donor antenna should have a very narrow beamwidth in order to isolate a single donor
BTS. In an area with a dense population of BTSs, isolating a single donor BTS may be difficult. If
more than one BTS is seen by the repeater, the performance in the repeater’s coverage area may be
degraded. As a result, it is typically recommended to use a highly directional, high gain, high front-
to-back ratio (for horizontal separation), and/or high side lobe attenuation (for vertical separation)
donor antenna with 15° of horizontal beamwidth or less. Parabolic antennas (solid or grid) are
suited very well for this application, which also have an added advantage of high side lobe
attenuation, which can help achieve the vertical antenna isolation requirements for the site.
Pilot pollution can be made worse if the repeater donor antenna is not narrow enough and localized
to the desired donor base station sector. Since the repeater repeats the entire CDMA carrier (signal
plus noise), it is important that the repeater location be line-of-sight to the donor BTS with a
dominant PN. It is highly recommended to choose a repeater application that will allow a line-of-
sight (LOS) path with a clear Fresnel zone (ideally with 60% of the first Fresnel clearance) between
the repeater and the donor BTS. A LOS path will ensure a highly reliable repeater link, which can
utilize a smaller fade margin. If a LOS path is not possible, then a path loss measurement is
required to estimate the mean path loss of the donor link.
Since a LOS path which isolates a single donor BTS is important, donor antenna alignment is also
very critical to the installation of a repeater site. A mis-aligned highly directional donor antenna
can also create significant performance issues with the operation of a repeater site.
The subscriber antenna should be chosen (i.e. gain, H/V beamwidth, etc.) to cover the desired area.
For over-the-air repeater applications, it is typically recommended to use an antenna with 105° of
horizontal beamwidth or less, due to isolation/interference concerns and the unreliability of the
beam patterns. It would be very difficult to achieve the antenna isolation requirements using an
omni subscriber antenna with an over-the-air repeater application and as such, they are not
recommended. On the other hand, micro-wave and fiber linked repeaters do not have the same
isolation requirements as the over-the-air repeaters. Thus, the horizontal beamwidth restrictions do
not apply towards the micro-wave/fiber linked repeater applications.
For those repeaters which have a diversity receive path capability, two subscriber antennas will be
required. The same subscriber antenna restrictions mentioned above would apply for over-the-air
diversity receive repeaters. As an alternative, a dual polarized slant 45° antenna may be a logical
choice for diversity receive repeaters. Dual pole antennas (see Chapter 7) with the desired
horizontal and vertical beamwidths have an advantage of providing two separate antennas in a
single housing.
The repeater gain settings are a critical component to the successful installation and performance
of the repeater. Setting the gain too high for the repeater’s Tx path to the subscriber could cause
the repeater Tx PA to be over driven under a loaded condition. Although this may not be a major
concern if the repeater PA is designed with gain compression, a significant amount of
intermodulation (IM) distortion and spectral regrowth may be generated, which can impact the
spectral purity (rho) of the CDMA signal beyond acceptable levels.
Setting the repeater’s Rx path back to the donor BTS too high could cause the BTS receiver to
desense. To ensure that the repeater does not desense the donor BTS in a normal application (i.e.
the repeater is NOT being used for maximum range extension), the repeater vendors typically
recommend that the repeater Rx gain back to the BTS should be set lower (up to 10 dB) than the
repeater Tx gain to the subscriber.
It is important to set the repeater gain levels for the Rx & Tx paths properly. Figure 4-25 below
shows the potential effects of reducing the range of a donor BTS if the gain settings are not set
properly.
Link Loss = P a th Loss + C able Loss + Ante nna G a in+ R e pea te r G ain
Assum ption
Path Loss R e verse Link R e pe ater to B T S = Forwa rd Link B T S to R epea te r
M obile to B T S
Relative Tx & Rx Link Differences
1 Repeater
- 5.0 2 Repeaters
4 Repeaters
-10.0
-15.0
-20.0
0.00 0.10 0.20 0.30 0.40 0.50 0.60 0.70 0.80 0.90 1.00
Norm alized R X C ell c overa ge refere nce d to B T S noise figure
With the assumption stated in the chart, the Y axis in the figure above represents the difference in
repeater forward Tx power relative to the BTS power plus the difference in the repeater forward
Tx gain relative to the repeater reverse Rx gain. Table 4-16 provides an example of how to
calculate the relative Tx & Rx link difference.
With this example, the donor BTS’s normalized Rx cell coverage at a -10dB relative Tx & Rx link
difference is ~96% of the BTS’s coverage area without the repeater (i.e. the repeater reduced the
coverage area by ~4%). Typical settings of the relative Tx & Rx link differences are -15 dB or
better which will cause little to no effect on the normal coverage area of the donor BTS.
This section discusses some of the optimization considerations around repeater applications.
The following sections provide some optimization considerations regarding the timing impacts of
adding a repeater to a system.
One of the main optimization considerations for the deployment of a repeater is the adjustment of
the network parameters associated with search windows and timing. Since the repeater unit itself
will add approximately 5-8 micro-seconds (μs) of delay (typically around 6 μs) in both the forward
and reverse links, certain timing related parameters need to be expanded in order to handle this
extra timing delay. There are four basic timing related considerations for repeaters.
Access Channel Search Window. The access channel search window establishes the maximum
round trip propagation delay that the BTS will search for subscriber origination attempts. In effect,
it establishes the maximum radius that the BTS will be able to receive an origination attempt. Since
a repeater not only increases the radius (distance) of the donor BTS, it also adds delay to the signal
which is similar to adding propagation delay. The added delay can be translated back to distance.
Thus, the access channel search window of the donor BTS needs to be expanded to compensate for
the added distance (repeater coverage plus repeater delay) that the repeater provides. For the Nokia
Cell Radius = Donor BTS Range (km) + Repeater Delay (μs) * 0.299 (km/μs) + Repeater Range (km) [EQ 4-66]
Traffic Channel Search Window. For the Nokia Siemens Networks infrastructure, the traffic
channel search window is set by the TchAcqWinSz parameter. This parameter defines the traffic
channel acquisition in PN chips, which is used during the handover acquisition of a call. For normal
applications (including repeater applications), it should be set at least as large as the
AchPamWinSz parameter (which is established by the Cell Radius parameter).
Subscriber Search Windows. The subscriber search window parameters are SrchWinA,
SrchWinN, and SrchWinR. SrchWinA is the active/candidate pilot set search window size which
should be made large enough to incorporate ~95% of the expected delay spread energy. Since a
repeater has an internal delay of 5-8 μs and a subscriber will find itself in places where the BTS
and repeater signals are both strong enough to demodulate, a repeater will normally increase the
effective delay spread of the donor BTS. The default setting for SrchWinA is 5 which corresponds
to 20 PN chips (16 μs or +8 μs from the earliest arriving “usable” delay spread component). The
default setting may be adequate for some repeater applications. An evaluation of the specific
repeater application is necessary to determine if the SrchWinA parameter for the donor BTS needs
to be increased.
The SrchWinN and SrchWinR parameters represent the search window sizes associated with the
Neighbor Set and Remaining Set pilots. The size should be made large enough to account for
differential time delay between the subscriber and a potential handoff BTS given in the
subscriber’s neighbor list. The worst case differential delay would be a scenario where the
subscriber is next to a serving site and the subscriber attempts to handoff to a distant site. Since a
repeater can increase the differential delay, increasing the SrchWinN and SrchWinR parameters
may be necessary for some repeater applications. It is important to note that handoff relationships
are symmetrical and reciprocal for the neighboring cells which are candidates for the donor sector.
Thus, the SrchWinN and SrchWinR parameters will need to be adjusted for both the donor BTS
and the neighbor cells to the donor BTS.
For more detailed information on PN offset planning and search window parameters please refer
to Chapter 5.
Another timing related issue to consider is that some implementations of location based services
may be affected by the use of repeaters. For a fixed network equipment based solution, Time
Difference of Arrival (TDA) measurements are made which will now include both repeater and
propagation delays. The repeater delay will add variance to the TDA measurements and may make
it difficult to achieve accurate location calculations. There is also a handset based GPS solution
which still requires some coordination with the fixed network equipment. Both of these location
based service implementations may require some sort of custom solution in order to make the
location based feature accurate for repeater applications.
Once the repeater site has been fully designed, installed, and verified (i.e. repeater gain settings
verification, donor BTS-to-repeater link verification, antenna isolation verification, etc.), the next
step is to conduct drive test optimization. After the timing related parameters have been evaluated
and adjusted appropriately, there are six drive test areas that need to be analyzed.
Most of the same basic drive test data collection and optimization techniques used for a normal
BTS can also be applied towards a repeater site. Although, the added complexity and functionality
of a repeater should be taken in account during the troubleshooting of any performance issues that
are identified through the drive test optimization process. Since one PN offset will be transmitted
from two separate antennas at two different locations, the optimization engineer needs to be
familiar with the donor BTS and repeater antenna configurations, in order to optimize the coverage
of the one PN offset.
Since the repeater repeats the entire CDMA carrier (signal plus noise), it is important that the
repeater location be line-of-sight to the donor BTS with a dominant PN. Pilot pollution can be
made worse if the repeater donor antenna is not narrow enough and localized to the desired donor
BTS sector. A repeater deployment should create a dominant pilot area and improve the pilot signal
strength coverage.
This section discusses some of the maintenance considerations around repeater applications.
As the capacity of a system grows over time, a natural progression is to deploy an additional
CDMA carrier to the system. Prior to deploying a repeater for a specific repeater application, the
long term expansion planning of the repeater site should be considered. The following sections
provide information about two future expansion considerations.
The expansion design of a multiple carrier repeater system becomes more complex. Duplication of
repeater hardware & installation is required with each additional carrier added to the donor BTS.
If a new carrier is added to an area where repeaters are deployed, re-engineering of the repeater site
is required to accommodate a multiple repeater configuration. Below are a few design issues to
consider when looking at multiple carrier repeater sites.
If the additional repeater is required to share the antennas of the existing repeater, the antenna
sharing combining/splitting/filtering losses for the new antenna configuration will need to be
evaluated. Adjustments to the repeater design may be required to overcome the additional
combining/splitting/filtering losses of the new antenna sharing configuration. If the additional
repeater requires separate antennas, an evaluation of the interference and antenna isolation is still
required. For either antenna configuration (antenna sharing or separate antennas), a re-evaluation
of the following is required.
Once the new antenna configuration has been designed and implemented, the new repeater
configuration should be reverified (i.e. repeater gain settings verification, donor BTS-to-repeater
link verification, antenna isolation verification, etc.). The long term planning and design of a
repeater application (i.e. multiple repeaters for multiple carrier support) should be considered
during the initial design and deployment of a specific repeater site.
Typically, a new carrier is added to expand the capacity of the system. A repeater does not provide
any capacity benefit to the system (it only provides expanded coverage). If a new carrier is added
to an area where repeaters are deployed, it may make sense to convert the repeater to a regular
capacity bearing cell site.
Future changes in the environmental conditions surrounding an over-the-air repeater site can have
an impact on the performance of the repeater. Changes in the surrounding environment (i.e.
changes in the ground clutter such as new buildings, changes to landscaping, seasonal changes to
the surrounding foliage, etc.) can have a negative impact on the donor BTS-to-repeater link
performance. It may also have a negative impact on the donor-to-subscriber antenna isolation. Both
of these conditions can affect the performance of an over-the-air repeater.
The Operations and Maintenance (O&M) of a repeater network will be different than that of a BTS
network. The hardware, software, monitoring access (POTS line w/modem, wireless modem, etc.),
configuration management, and alarm monitoring O&M practices and procedures for a repeater
network will be different and will require specialized knowledge and skill sets. Different resources
or additional training will be required to properly plan, design, install, operate, and maintain a
repeater system.
System Capacity planning becomes more complicated with repeaters. Since repeaters connected to
one sector will cover more area than sectors without repeaters, the site’s capacity limit will be
reached more quickly due to the additional area the sector with the repeater is covering. This may
cause a highly imbalanced system where one sector is lightly loaded while another sector is heavily
loaded. To overcome capacity loaded donor sectors, a new carrier can be added, the repeater can
be replaced with a new cell site, or the repeater can be moved to a lightly loaded donor sector.
There are two key functional capabilities provided with the Nokia Siemens Networks’ Extended
Range Cell feature.
• System support for a maximum cell radius setting of up to 180 km for IS-2000 1X voice
calls and up to 144 km for IS-95 voice calls
• Pilot PN Offset Diversification functionality, which allows Pilot PN Offset Increments
to be defined at the Sector-Carrier level (this functionality can be applied towards
extended range and/or normal range cell sites)
There are many different aspects that need to be considered during the RF planning and design
phase for an Extended Range cell site. The following sections discuss some of the major concerns
that need to be considered in the RF planning, design, installation and optimization for Extended
Range cell sites.
The RF planning and design for Extended Range cell sites (i.e. >56 km range) requires some
unique considerations as opposed to normal range cell sites. This section discusses the following
topics as it relates to Extended Range cell site RF planning and design.
For most Extended Range cell site applications, the limited subscriber power will most likely cause
the reverse link to be the limiting factor from an RF link perspective. In order to improve the
performance of the reverse link, tower top amplifiers (TTAs) may need to be considered. If the
specific design of an Extended Range cell site has a significant amount of attenuation between the
Receive antenna and the input to the base transceiver station (BTS), then a TTA should be
considered.
There are two performance improvements for the reverse link associated with the implementation
of TTAs. The first performance improvement significantly reduces the receive path transmission
losses between the antenna and the BTS. The second performance improvement associated with
TTAs is a reduction of the cascaded noise figure for the combined TTA/BTS system which results
in a better receive sensitivity. Section 4.2.3.2.1 provides a detailed example of the calculations
utilized to determine the TTA performance improvements. For this detailed example, Table 4-5
shows a 3.0 dB improvement due to a reduction in transmission path attenuation and a 1.27 dB
improvement due to a reduction in the cascaded Noise Figure. The overall benefit provides a 4.27
dB improvement that can be applied directly to the link budget for the reverse link.
Adding TTAs to a cell site also places active electronics at the top of the antenna tower. The remote
location of the TTA adds some complexity to the installation and maintenance of the TTA. Special
filtering, lightning protection, grounding/bonding, and/or shielding requirements may be necessary
during the TTA installation. Please refer to the specific TTA vendor’s installation requirements for
more details. Maintenance and/or replacement of the TTA is more difficult due to its installation
at the top of the tower. All of these factors need to be considered prior to designing a cell site with
TTAs.
Being able to establish and maintain an RF link for an Extended Range cell site is one of the more
difficult design objectives. Since the reverse link will most likely be the limiting RF link for an
Extended Range cell site, performing a link budget analysis for the reverse link is an important step
in the design process. There are two key design configurations that should be considered for all
Extended Range cell site designs. The use of TTAs (as discussed in Section 4.6.1.1) and the use of
narrow beamwidth high gain antennas should both be considered. Table 4-18 provides an example
reverse RF link budget which utilizes both Tower Top Amplifiers and high gain antennas.
Table 4-18: Extended Range Reverse RF Link Budget with TTA Example
Parameter Unit Reference No With
TTA TTA
Subscriber Unit Tx Power dBm Pp Section 4.2.3.1.1 23 23
Subscriber Unit Tx Feeder Loss dB Lfp Section 4.2.1.5 0 0
Subscriber Unit Antenna Gain dBd Gp Section 4.2.1.6 -2.1 -2.1
Body Loss dB Hm Section 4.2.1.3 2 2
Vehicle Loss dB Vm Section 4.2.1.2 7 7
Building Loss dB Bm Section 4.2.1.1 0 0
Base Antenna Gain dBd Gb Section 4.2.1.6 17.0 17.0
Line Loss dB Lfb Section 4.2.1.5 6.5 0.5
kTB dBm kTB Section 4.2.3.2.1 -113.1 -113.1
Base Noise Figure dB Nfb Section 4.2.3.2.1 6 5.6
(Cascaded NF for TTA example)
Eb/No dB E Section 4.2.2.3 5.6 5.6
Processing Gain dB PG Section 4.2.3.2 21.1 21.1
Base Rx Sensitivity dBm Sb Section 4.2.3.2 -122.6 -123.0
Interference Margin dB Im Section 4.2.2.1 3 3
Ambient Noise Rise dB Tm Section 4.2.1.4 0 0
Shadow Fade Margin dB Fm Section 4.2.2.2 & 5.6 5.6
(Note: 1) Section 4.2.4
Max. Allowable Path Loss dB Lp 136.4 142.8
Isotropic Path Loss dB Li 140.7 147.1
Note: 1. The shadow fade margin assumes the effects of soft handoff and multiple cells.
Where:
Sensitivity and path loss are calculated as follows:
Sb = kTB + Nfb + E - PG
Table 4-18 provides a side-by-side link budget comparison of a site with and without a TTA
installed at the site. The example utilized a line loss of 6.5 dB, which makes it a good candidate for
using TTAs. As shown in the link budget analysis, the TTA provided a 6.0 dB improvement in line
loss and a 0.4 dB improvement in Base Noise Figure for an overall path loss improvement of 6.4
dB. This example had a total gain from the TTA input to the BTS input of 3.0 dB, which is well
within the 6.0 dB guideline to help minimize the IIP3 degradation.
Below is a comparison of the differences between an Extended Range Cell (see Table 4-18) and a
normal range cell (see Table 4-7) link budget. From this comparison of typical link budgets, the
Extended Range cell has a 5.4 dB advantage over the normal range cell.
Table 4-19: Extended Range vs. Normal Range Link Budget Comparison
Parameter Normal Range Extended Range Extended Range Gain
w/o TTAs with TTAs Improvement
Base Antenna Gain (dBd) 14.5 17.0 2.5
Line Loss (dB) 3 0.5 2.5
Base Noise Figure (dB) 6 5.6 0.4
Once the link budget for the reverse link has been estimated for the Extended Range cell, the next
step is to estimate the link budget for forward link. Since the maximum base station transmit power
for the forward link is adjustable, one of the goals for the link budget analysis is to estimate the
forward link power requirements to balance the forward and reverse links. Therefore, all of the link
budget parameters are entered into the analysis and then the Base Tx Power is adjusted until the
maximum allowable path loss for the forward link matches that of the reverse link. Table 4-20
provides an example of a forward link budget example for an Extended Range cell.
Note: 1. The shadow fade margin assumes the effects of soft handoff and multiple cells.
Where:
Sensitivity and path loss are calculated as follows:
Sp = kTB + Nfp + E - PG
Lp = Pb - Lfp + Gp + Gb - Lfb - Sp - Im - Tm - Hm - Vm - Bm - Fm
Li = Lp + (2 * 2.14)
From the link budget example shown in Table 4-20, the forward link traffic channel would require
about 34.8 dBm or ~3.0 Watts of power to balance the forward and reverse links. If we assume that
the pilot and traffic channel gain settings are set to the same value (i.e. 127), then the pilot power
setting for this example would also be set at 34.8 dBm or 3.02 Watts. If the pilot and traffic channel
gain settings are set to 127 and 110 respectively, then the pilot power setting for this example
would be set at 36.0 dBm or ~4.0 Watts (1272 / 1102 * 3.0 = 4.0 Watts).
There are many different challenges that need to be addressed when trying to design a cell site with
a range that extends beyond 56 km. The following sections discuss many of the design limitations
that need to be considered during an Extended Range cell site design process.
For some Extended Range cell site examples, the forward link traffic channel power requirements
could be as high as 10 Watts. Once the power requirements have been estimated for the forward
link traffic channel, an analysis of the PA capacity requirements for the specific BTS should be
performed. For Extended Range cell sites, the maximum number of users supported by the site may
be limited by the PA capacity. For those cases that have a high forward link traffic channel
requirement, it may be necessary to trade out capacity for coverage. For those sites, it is highly
recommended that the LPA Overload Protection feature be implemented. Since the typical design
criteria for Extended Range cell sites is for rural areas with low capacity requirements, a capacity
for coverage trade-off is normal. Figure 4-26 provides an analysis example of the Available PA
Power versus Pilot/TCH Power. The assumptions associated with this analysis are provided below.
Assumptions for the Available PA Power vs. Pilot/TCH Power Analysis shown in Figure 4-26
• Maximum PA power per carrier = 90 Watts (assumes an SC4812T-Lite)
• Maximum traffic channel power = 100% of Pilot
• Paging channel power = 75% of Pilot
• Sync channel power = 10% of Pilot
• Available PA Power provides the maximum trunked power per sector assuming both an
even and uneven load across all of the sectors
90
80
70
Available PA Power (Watts)
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12
Pilot/TCH Power (Watts)
1 Sector Site 2 Sector Site - Uneven Load 3 Sector Site - Uneven Load
2 Sector Site - Even Load 3 Sector Site - Even Load
One of the major obstacles to overcome when designing an Extended Range cell site is the
curvature of the earth. For most Extended Range cell site designs, a near line-of-sight path between
the cell site antenna and the subscriber unit may be necessary to overcome the earth’s horizon
limitation and to help support an open or free space path loss model. As a result, the height of the
antenna with respect to the desired area of coverage becomes a critical factor. For example, a cell
site will typically need an antenna height that is approximately 245 meters above the ground to
achieve a line-of-site path of up to 56 km. Thus, an Extended Range cell site which is greater than
56 km would need an antenna height that is greater than 245 meters above the ground level.
Figure 4-27 displays a diagram that can be used to calculate the required antenna height as shown
in [EQ 4-67] to achieve a line-of-sight path which takes into account the curvature of the earth.
Figure 4-28 provides a plot of the line-of-sight distance to the horizon versus antenna height.
Horizon = 120 km
110
100
90
80
70
60
50
40 Horizon = 35.7 km
30 Antenna Height = 1130 m
20
10 Antenna Height = 100 m
0
1 .10 1 .10
3 4
1 10 100
Antenna Height (m)
As shown in Figure 4-28, a typical antenna height of 100 meters above the ground produces a line-
of-sight path of 35.7 km and a 120 km cell site would require the antenna height to be about 1130
meters above ground level. It is important to note that the antenna height requirements due to the
earth’s horizon can also be aided by the elevation of the terrain surrounding the site. A hilltop or
mountaintop cell site with a fairly steep decline in elevation can take advantage of the ground
elevation at the cell site to help overcome the earth’s horizon antenna height requirements (see
Figure 4-34). As a result, the difference in ground elevations between the cell site and the edges of
the coverage area may also need to be considered. Due to the earth’s horizon limitations, the
antenna height above ground level and a line-of-sight path are some of the critical factors that need
to be considered during the design phase of an Extended Range cell site.
As stated in the previous section, a line-of-sight path between the cell site antenna and the
subscriber unit may be necessary to overcome the earth’s horizon limitations, but it may also be
required to help support an open or free space RF propagation path loss model. In order to achieve
RF propagation over very long distances, the RF environment for the Extended Range cell site
coverage area will most likely need to approximate the open or free space path loss models.
The next step in validating the Extended Range cell site design is to verify the RF environment for
the desired coverage area and determine if the propagation model path loss calculations associated
with the RF environment are less than the maximum path loss calculations provided by the link
budget estimates. The Free Space, Hata, and COST-231-Hata propagation model calculations
provided in Section 4.3.1, Section 4.3.2, and Section 4.3.3 can be used for this step. The Hata
propagation model will typically be used for applications that are less than 1000 MHz and the
100.0
Cell Radius (km)
1.0
100
105
110
115
120
125
130
135
140
145
150
155
160
165
170
175
180
Path Loss (dB)
The results shown in Figure 4-29 show that the COST-231-Hata at 1910 MHz and Hata at 880
MHz using Open and Rural path loss areas with a 1130m antenna height and a horizon distance of
120 km is less than the maximum path loss calculations for the Extended Range link budget
estimates from Section 4.6.1.2 and Section 4.6.1.3. The results also show that the Hata at 880 MHz
using the Suburban path loss area will be close to meeting the maximum path loss requirements
from the link budget estimates. This example shows that selecting an antenna height which satisfies
the earth’s horizon limitation has also satisfied the Open and Rural maximum path loss criteria.
Since the Free Space path loss model is based upon a line-of-sight path, the calculation does not
need a base and subscriber antenna height. Figure 4-30 provides a chart of the Free Space path loss
estimates versus cell radius using an 880 & 1910 MHz transmission frequency.
100.0
Cell Radius (km)
1.0
100
105
110
115
120
125
130
135
140
145
150
155
160
Path Loss (dB)
The Free Space path loss model will always provide the most optimistic cell radius results. RF
measurements of the desired coverage area may be necessary to characterize the RF environment
in order to help verify the appropriate RF propagation model to use and the maximum path loss
requirements for the area of interest.
During the development of the Extended Range Cell feature, several constraints and limitations
were implemented as part of the feature. This section provides some of those constraints and
limitations that need to be considered during the design phase of an Extended Range cell site.
The following is a list of hardware related constraints that apply to the Extended Range Cell
feature.
• The extended cell radius functionality of the Extended Range Cell feature will initially
be supported by the MCC 1X, BBX 1X, and JBBX 1X cards. Older models of these
cards will not support this functionality.
• The extended cell radius functionality of the Extended Range Cell feature is not
supported for EVDO carriers
• The Pilot PN Offset Diversification functionality of the Extended Range Cell feature
will initially be supported by the MCC 24 and MCC 1X cards. Older BTS models do not
support this functionality.
• The Extended Range Cell feature will initially be supported on the following non-logical
BTS frame types with 3 sectors or less: SC4812 series, SC480, SC2440, SC4840, and
SC7224. Older BTS models do not support this functionality.
Extended Cell
MCC Air # of # of Maximum
Range Radius
Type Interface Sectors Carriers TchAcqWinSz
Feature Supported
Extended Cell
MCC Air # of # of Maximum
Range Radius
Type Interface Sectors Carriers TchAcqWinSz
Feature Supported
MCC 8/24 IS-95 <6 <4 Disabled Disabled < 56.0 km 472
MCC 8/24 IS-95 <6 <4 Enabled Disabled < 36.0 km 308
An important aspect that needs to be considered during the design phase of an Extended Range cell
site are the handoff limitations to its neighbor cell sites. In order for Extended Range cell sites to
handoff to normal range cell sites, the normal range cell site will need to have the Extended Range
Cell feature enabled in order to interpret the distant PNs correctly (see Chapter 5 Section 5.3.4 for
more details). Another issue that exists with Extended Range handoffs is the subscriber window
size limitations. Section 5.3.4 from Chapter 5 provides a general explanation of the mobile search
windows and how the search window settings correlate to cell site geography and distance. The
range of search window size settings available for SrchWinN is more than adequate for normal
range cell sites. For Extended Range cell sites, the maximum SrchWinN window size setting of 15
provides some soft handoff design limitations that need to be considered. The maximum
SrchWinN setting creates a subscriber search window of +/- 226 chips which correlates to
approximately +/- 55 km. Figure 4-31 Figure 4-32, and Figure 4-33 provide a simple example of
how the SrchWinN window size can limit the soft handoff for an Extended Range cell site.
Cell A Cell B
100 km 35 km
For the example in Figure 4-31, a subscriber is driving along a linear path from an Extended Range
site (Cell A) to a normal range site (Cell B). The subscriber is currently located 100 km from Cell
A and 35 km from Cell B and the pilot signal strength from Cell B has just become high enough to
be a candidate for the active set. For this example, a subscriber in the active set on Cell A and
driving towards Cell B will never be able to perform a soft handoff with Cell B because the signal
from Cell B will be outside the SrchWinN window size. Since Cell A & B are both GPS
synchronized in time, a Chips/Distance scale (as shown in Figure 4-32) can be used to analyze the
situation.
As the subscriber approaches the handoff zone between Cell A & B, the subscriber’s time reference
is based off of Cell A which is delayed by ~410 chips due to the 100 km distance. Since Cell B’s
signal is only 35 km away, the chip delay is only ~143 chips. Since the chip differential between
the two cell sites is 410-143=267 chips, which is larger than the maximum SrchWinN window size
of 226 chips, the subscriber will never be able to receive the signal from Cell B because it will
appear outside the subscriber’s search window. The same situation would occur if the subscriber
was active on Cell B and driving towards Cell A.
The differential distance from the subscriber to each BTS trying to perform a soft handoff cannot
exceed the 55 km (226 chip) SrchWinN window size limit, otherwise the subscriber will never see
the other BTS's pilot. Thus, the soft handoff between an Extended Range cell and a normal range
cell must occur before the differential distance between the subscriber and the two BTSs reach the
55 km window size limit. This SrchWinN window size limitation would also apply to soft handoffs
between two Extended Range cell sites. Figure 4-33 shows the SrchWinN handoff zone for the
previous example which is created as a result of the SrchWinN window size limitation.
40 km 55 km 40 km
No Handoffs Handoffs Allowed No Handoffs
The simplistic example provided in Figure 4-31, Figure 4-32, and Figure 4-33 analyzed a linear
path between the two cell sites. Keep in mind that an RF coverage area handoff zone must exist
between the two sites for soft handoffs to occur. The design of the RF coverage area handoff zone
must also take into account the SrchWinN handoff limitation. Thus, the differential distance to
each BTS should be checked for all of the areas that are designated as soft handoff zones.
In some cases, the forward link signal may be adequate to trigger a soft handoff within the handoff
zone, but the reverse link may not be adequate enough to maintain the link which can cause a
dropped call. If optimization efforts cannot alleviate the situation, PSMM filtering can be used to
protect against dropping a leg with significantly better reverse FER. In another case, the forward
As discussed in the previous sections, there are many different design criteria that need to be
considered during the Extended Range cell site planning and design phase. One of the more critical
aspects of the Extended Range cell site planning and design is the site selection criteria. There are
a few unique site selection applications that tend to promote the previously mentioned Extended
Range design criteria. This section will discuss some of the unique site selection design criteria and
some unique cell site design applications.
One of the main Extended Range cell site design criteria is to maximize the antenna height in order
to overcome the earth’s horizon limitation, which also promotes a line-of-sight open or free space
path loss propagation model. For a 120 km Extended Range cell site, the antenna height would
need to be approximately 1130 m above ground level. Achieving this type of antenna height is
difficult unless the cell site is designed on top of a hill or mountain side. Thus, one of the unique
site selection criteria is for a hill and/or mountain top application as shown in Figure 4-34.
Since RF propagation travels a lot further over water as opposed to land, another unique site
selection application is to design an Extended Range cell site along a marine or coastal border.
Figure 4-35 provides an example of an Extended Range cell marine/coastal application.
Another unique Extended Range cell site application is a cascaded repeater design. Additional
information on a cascaded repeater design is available in Section 4.5.1.2.3. The basic premise of a
cascaded repeater design is to utilize very narrow beam high gain antennas and cascade multiple
repeaters along an open rural highway coverage area with flat terrain (see Figure 4-36 for an
example). Since a repeater adds some delay to the transmission back to the BTS, the total distance
for the cell site radius setting needs to account for the total distance within the coverage area for
cascaded repeater application and the total delay for all of the repeaters that are used within the
application. The time delay for the repeater should be available from the repeater vendor and then
the time delay can be converted to distance by multiplying by the speed of light (i.e. 299,792.458
km/second or 186,282.397 miles/second).
BTS Repeater #2
Repeater #1
It is important to note that the usage of narrow horizontal and/or vertical beamwidth high gain
antennas with highly elevated antenna heights can create significant nulls within the coverage area.
In most cases, the Extended Range cell site will not be designed to provide ubiquitous coverage
around the cell site (as is the case with normal range, urban or suburban cell sites). An Extended
Range cell site will typically be designed to provide a unique coverage area application where
In summary, there are many different criteria that need to be considered during the site selection
process for an Extended Range cell site design. The following is a list of some of the previously
discussed criteria that influence the site selection process for Extended Range cell sites.
For the most part, the same optimization activities utilized for normal range cell sites will also be
used for Extended Range cell sites. Since repeaters extend the range of an existing cell site, some
of the same optimization considerations that were mentioned for repeaters (see Section 4.5.3)
would also apply for Extended Range cell sites. This section provides some of the unique
optimization considerations that would apply to Extended Range cell sites.
One of the main purposes of PN offset planning within a system is to eliminate the effects of
adjacent offset and co-offset interference. One of the key parameters within a PN offset plan is the
setting of the Pilot PN Offset Increment (PILOT_INC). The average cell site radius for an area will
typically influence the setting of the PILOT_INC parameter. Since the Extended Range cell site
significantly increases the cell site radius for an area, a higher setting of the PILOT_INC parameter
is typically required for proper PN offset planning.
As stated earlier, there are two key functional capabilities provided with the Nokia Siemens
Networks Extended Range Cell feature. The first part of the feature provides system support for a
maximum cell radius setting of up to 180 km and the second part enables Pilot PN Offset
Increments to be defined at the Sector-Carrier level. With the Nokia Siemens Networks Extended
Range Cell feature enabled on a BTS, then this BTS does not have to have the same PILOT_INC
as the CBSC. Thus, the PILOT_INC settings are defined at the BTS on a Sector-Carrier level. The
information within Chapter 5 can be used to perform the basic PN Offset planning.
The usage of multiple PILOT_INC values within a system produces a situation where PILOT_INC
boundaries and transition zones need to be created. PN offset planning for multiple PILOT_INC
areas which provides specific guidelines for PILOT_INC boundaries and transition zones are
provided in Section 5.4.7.
There are five basic search window/timing related considerations for Extended Range cell sites.
Access Channel Search Window. The access channel search window establishes the maximum
round trip propagation delay that the BTS will search for subscriber origination attempts. In effect,
it establishes the maximum radius that the BTS will be able to receive an origination attempt. The
system will automatically calculate and populate the PamSz & AchPamWinSz parameters based
upon the user’s input for the Cell Radius parameter (which is entered in kilometers). When the
Extended Range mode is turned ON for a BTS, the range of values for the Cell Radius parameter
will be extended to 180 km. It is important to make sure that the Cell Radius parameter setting is
within the limitations stated for the specific BTS type as shown in Table 4-21, Table 4-22, Table
4-23, and Table 4-24.
Traffic Channel Search Window. The traffic channel search window (TchAcqWinSz) defines the
traffic channel acquisition in PN chips, which is used during the handover acquisition of a call. For
normal applications, it should be set at least as large as the AchPamWinSz parameter (which is
established by the Cell Radius parameter). For Extended Range cell sites, the guidelines provided
in Section 5.3.6 of Chapter 5 should be followed.
Subscriber Search Windows. The subscriber search window parameters are SrchWinA,
SrchWinN, and SrchWinR. SrchWinA is the active/candidate pilot set search window size which
should be made large enough to incorporate ~95% of the expected delay spread energy. Since the
typical application for an Extended Range cell site is for an open or line-of-sight RF environment,
the expected delay spread energy should not increase from that of a normal cell site. Thus, the
default settings for the SrchWinA parameter should also be adequate for Extended Range cell sites.
The SrchWinN and SrchWinR parameters represent the search window sizes associated with the
Neighbor Set and Remaining Set pilots. The size should be made large enough to account for
differential time delay between the subscriber and a potential handoff BTS given in the
subscriber’s neighbor list. Additional handoff limitation information regarding Extended Range
cell sites and the SrchWinN parameter is provided in 1. It is important to note that handoff
relationships are symmetrical, so the SrchWinN and SrchWinR parameters will need to be adjusted
for both the Extended Range cell site and the neighbor cells to the Extended Range cell site.
Edge Sensing Handoffs. An Extended Range cell site will increase the round-trip delay
measurement for Database Assisted Hard Handoffs or Edge Sensing Handoffs. The measurements
of the mobile distance from the BTS is impacted only due to the larger valid range of values (PN
Another optimization consideration is that the triggers for Edge Sensing handoffs are disabled
during the time the subscriber slews to the new time reference from one cell in the active set to
another. This time may be considerable if the subscriber is slewing its time reference from a large
cell to a small cell. During this slew time, edge sensing handoffs will not be performed.
The actual terrain of the area to be covered can greatly influence the range to which a site will
propagate. Instead of an ideal line of sight propagation, reflections, diffractions and shadowing of
the RF signal are taken into account to adjust the distance that the signal will propagate. In addition
to the terrain, what is on the terrain, ground clutter, is quite important. A given RF signal will
propagate further in an area that is desolate (little to no buildings or foliage), than in an area which
is comprised of many buildings. Also, the placement of the site within this terrain is very important.
Simply stated, if the site is surrounded by obstructions, the coverage of the site will be less than if
there are no obstructions.
The actual traffic characteristics of systems are non-uniform with large variations possible from
sector to sector. The more spectrally efficient a given radio technology is, the more economical it
is to maintain the grade of service in these sectors by simply adding additional traffic channels. In
less efficient radio systems, cell splitting is the only option available to maintain the grade of
service. This often requires the addition of several cells to resolve the blocking problem in a single
sector. This characteristic is not accounted for in the RF link budgets.
Many different criteria exist for determining the CDMA coverage area of a system. Among these
criteria, differentiation should be made between the forward and reverse links, as well as, between
the criteria that can be simulated as opposed to being field test measured. Differentiation of the
subscriber unit needs to be considered. Fixed systems need to have different assumptions or
considerations applied to the design that will be different from a system being designed to support
mobility. Finally, a distinction must be made between coverage area as defined in the loaded
system as opposed to the unloaded system. Coverage will change with loading. Any coverage test
needs to keep loading in perspective.
Because of the interrelated nature of CDMA coverage, quality and capacity, and all of the issues
The Nokia Siemens Networks IDGP CDMA Simulator may be used for analyzing DS-CDMA
performance in proposed and existing systems resulting in predicted capacity, required system
parameters and hardware loading information. It provides for a method of understanding the inter-
relationship between coverage, capacity, and quality. It permits investigations into real Cellular/
PCS system concerns such as edge effects, excess background noise, propagation anomalies,
antenna beamwidth, subscriber distribution, receiver sensitivity impact, interference mitigation,
power control and handoff. It also provides performance levels and determines required power
allocation for page, sync, pilot, forward and reverse traffic channels (TCH) for different channel
models, cell loading, and receiver characteristics. Both the reverse and forward link are simulated.
It should be noted that the accuracy of the simulator is dependent on the accuracy of the input it
requires (such as path loss, traffic distribution, vehicle speed, etc.).
2. Turkmani and Toledo, "Modelling of radio transmissions into and within multistory
buildings at 900, 1800 and 2300 MHz", IEEE Proceedings-I, Vol. 140, No. 6, December
1993
3. Aguirre, "Radio Propagation Into Buildings at 912, 1920, and 5990 MHz Using
Microcells", 0-7803-1823-4/94 IEEE, session 1.6 & 1.7, pp. 129-134
5. Jakes, W.C., "Microwave Mobile Communications", IEEE Press Reissue 1993, (Wiley,
New York, 1974), pp. 125-127
6. Okumura, Y., Ohmori, E., Kawano, T., Fukada, K.: "Field strength and ITs Variability
in VHF and UHF Land-Mobile Radio Service", Rev. Elec. Commun. Lab., 16 (1968),
pp. 825-873
7. Hata, M.: "Empirical formula for propagation loss in land mobile radio services", IEEE
Trans. on Vehicular and Technology, VT-29 (1980), pp. 317-325
8. COST 231 - UHF Propagation, "Urban transmission loss models for mobile radio in the
900- and 1,800- MHz bands", COST 231 TD (91) 73 The Hagne, September, 1991
9. Parsons, David, "The Mobile Radio Propagation Channel", Copyright 1992, Reprinted
1996 by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
10. Rappaport, Theodore S., "Wireless Communications Principles & Practices", Copyright
1996 by Prentice Hall PTR
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5 5 PN Offset Planning
and Search Windows
Table of Contents
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Please note that all of the information provided on this topic applies equally to IS-95A, IS-95B,
and IS-2000 specifications.
The design of a PN offset plan for CDMA is comparable to that of a signalling channel frequency
plan in analog. The consequences of poor offset planning include the following:
• Active Set Pilot Interference - This phenomenon would occur in the active area and
involve the active search window (SRCH_WIN_A). The interfering signal would need
In analog systems, ‘co’ and adjacent channel interference are major factors in the system design.
The co-channel interference was managed via the antenna configuration and the reuse pattern/
distance. The adjacent channel interference was managed through the application of a simple
frequency planning rule.
With the CDMA channel, all sites reuse the same frequency. Interference isolation on the forward
CDMA channel is obtained via short PN code offsets (inter-sector) and Walsh codes (intra-sector).
The possible sources of interference/falsing include ‘co’ and adjacent offsets.
Since CDMA pilots are distinguished through offsets of the same short PN code, adjacent channel
interference has its counterpart in CDMA when phase shifts occur caused by propagation delays.
Using phase for cell identification may therefore cause falsing problems as depicted in Figure 5-1.
t0 = 102 μsec
PN 0
t1 = 50 μsec
PN 1
Δt = t0 - t1 = 102 μsec - 50 μsec = 52 μsec
PN 1 - PN 0 = 64 chips = 52 μsec = 9.6 miles
Traversing the additional distance of 9.6 miles, the PN 0 signal has phase
shifted sufficiently so as to be received by the subscriber with essentially the
same phase as PN 1.
The phase delay used in the figure above need not be so exact to create problems. The falsing of
one signal need only fall within the search window of the subscriber.1
The valid set of offsets is limited to multiples of PILOT_INC. In Figure 5-2 below, a PILOT_INC
of 2 was chosen. Offset 4 is adjacent to and can interfere with 6 if it arrives ~2 offsets late which
implies that 4, the interfering signal, is traversing a significant distance. Conversely, offset 6 may
interfere with 4, but 6 would need to arrive ~2 offsets early which implies that the subscriber is
acting at a significant distance from the site using offset 4. If the PILOT_INC is chosen carefully,
there should be little concern with 2 interfering with 6 or 6 with 2.
2 4 6 8 10
As with analog, a reuse distance must be maintained between sectors implementing the same PN
offset to avoid interference. Since the pilot signal is integral to the operation of a CDMA system,
careful PN offset planning should be performed to mitigate interference between sites using the
same offset and falsing between adjacent PN codes which result from phase delay.
There are various parameters and terms which come into play when discussing PN offsets and their
function in CDMA.
1. Note also how time, distance, and chips are all related. Refer to Section 5.3.3.
All base station digital transmissions are referenced to a common CDMA system-wide time scale
that uses the Global Positioning System (GPS) time scale, which is traceable to and synchronous
with Universal Coordinated Time (UTC).2
Time Reference
The subscriber establishes a time reference which is used to derive system time. This time
reference will be the earliest arriving multipath component being used for demodulation.3 This
reflects the assumption that the subscriber’s fix on system time is always skewed by delay
associated with the shortest active link.
PILOT_PN
The Pilot PN sequence offset (index), in units of 64 PN chips. It ranges from 0 to 511. Every
transmit sector will have an offset assigned to it.
Active Set
The pilots associated with the Forward Traffic Channels assigned to the subscriber.4 It is the base
station that assigns all active set pilots to subscribers.
Candidate Set
The pilots that are not currently in the Active Set but have been received by the subscriber with
sufficient strength to indicate that the associated Forward Traffic Channels could be successfully
demodulated. As a property of the Mobile Assisted HandOff (MAHO), the subscriber promotes a
Neighbor Set or Remaining Set pilot to the Candidate Set when certain pilot strength criteria are
met and then recommends the pilot to the base station for inclusion in the Active Set.
Neighbor Set
The pilots that are not currently in the Active Set or the Candidate Set and are likely candidates for
handoff. Neighbor Set pilots are identified by the base station via Neighbor List and Neighbor List
Update messages.
Remaining Set
The set of all possible pilots in the current system on the current CDMA frequency assignment,
excluding pilots in the other sets. These pilots must be integer multiples of PILOT_INC (defined
below).
2. EIA/TIA/IS-95A, Mobile Station - Base Station Compatibility Standard for Dual-Mode Wideband Spread Spectrum Cellular System,
§1.2.
3. Ibid., §6.1.5.1.
4. Ibid., §6.6.6.1.2.
These parameters represent the search window sizes associated with Neighbor Set and Remaining
Set pilots.5 The subscriber centers the search window for each pilot around the pilot’s PN sequence
offset using timing defined by the subscriber’s time reference.
SRCH_WIN_A
This parameter represents the search window size associated with the Active Set and Candidate Set
pilots.6 The subscriber centers the search window for each pilot around the earliest arriving usable
multipath component of the pilot. Note that in contrast to the neighbor or remaining set search
windows, the active/candidate search windows "float" with the desired signals. That is to say that
the center position of the search window is updated every scan to track the new location of the
earliest arriving multipath component.
To better illustrate the relationships between search windows, consider the following scenario:
A subscriber monitors a neighbor pilot. The neighbor search window is centered on the neighbor
pilot offset. This centering is relative based on timing derived from the time reference. When the
pilot strength of a neighbor pilot recommends promotion to the candidate set, then the search
window will be tightened to the active search window size. The active search window is sized to
compensate for delay spread only and is, therefore, smaller than the neighbor search window. In
addition, the active search window locks onto and tracks the candidate pilot.
PILOT_ARRIVAL
The pilot arrival time is the time of occurrence of the earliest arriving usable multipath component
of a pilot relative to the subscriber’s time reference.7
PILOT_PN_PHASE
The subscriber reports pilot strength and phase measurements for each active and candidate pilot
in the Pilot Strength Measurement Message when recommending a change in the handoff status
(i.e. mobile assisted handoff). The subscriber computes the reported PILOT_PN_PHASE as a
function of the PILOT_ARRIVAL and the PILOT_PN.8 The pilot arrival component represents
the time delay of the pilot relative to the time reference or, in other words, how skewed the pilot is
5. Ibid., §6.6.6.2.1.
6. Ibid.
7. Ibid., §6.6.6.2.4.
8. Ibid.
Note also that the subscriber does not identify pilots by their offset index directly, but by their
phase measurement. If the pilot arrival was larger than 32 chips (1/2 of a pilot offset or 4.8 miles),
then this could undermine the ability of the base station to properly translate pilot phase into pilot
offset index (given a PILOT_INC of 1).
PILOT_INC
The pilot PN sequence offset index increment is the interval between pilots, in increments of 64
chips. Its valid range is from 1 to 15. The subscriber uses this parameter in only one manner, to
determine which pilots to scan from among the Remaining set. Only valid pilots (i.e. those pilots
that are multiples of PILOT_INC) will be scanned. For the subscriber, PILOT_INC impacts only
the scanning rate applied to Remaining pilots. It accomplishes this by reducing the number of
Remaining pilots that need to be scanned.
For the base station, the effect of the PILOT_INC is different. In the base station, it is used in
properly translating pilot phase back into pilot offset index. The consequence is that the operator
may artificially increase the separation between valid time offsets. By selecting a PILOT_INC of
2, for instance, an operator chooses to limit the number of valid offsets to 256 (i.e. 0, 2, 4,..., 508,
510) instead of 512. The increased separation means that the pilot arrival must be larger before
adjacent offset ambiguity is possible and consequently the likelihood of a strong adjacent interferer
is reduced.
Chips
Time (us) = ------------------------------- = Chips × 0.8138 us/chip [EQ 5-1]
1.2288 Mcps
Distance (miles) = Chips × 0.8138 us/chip × 186,000 miles/1,000,000 us = Chips × 0.1514 miles/chip [EQ 5-2]
Or, in kilometers:
Distance (km) = Chips × 0.8138 us/chip × 299,311 km ⁄ 1,000,000 us = Chips × 0.244 km/chip [EQ 5-3]
Note that the chip rate (1.2288 Mcps) and the speed of light (186,000 miles/sec) are fundamental
to these conversions.
Before discussing offset planning in any detail, a brief discussion of search windows and their
spatial relationships to cell sites and subscribers is needed. Base Stations, by virtue of their GPS
tracking, have an exact concept of system time. This, in turn, means that signals leaving these sites
have precise offsets and identities. On the other hand, subscribers derive their timing from a time
reference. Their concept of system time is skewed late by the time-of-flight delay associated with
this time reference signal. The greater the distance between the subscriber and the time reference
site, the greater the skewing.
2 A 1
B’ B
C
D = distance between Site 1 and Site 2
X = D/2
Let subscriber A, Site 1 and Site 2 be co-linear with subscriber A positioned exactly between Sites
1 and 2 and with Site 1 active. The subscriber’s concept of system time is skewed from real system
time by X, the distance between the subscriber’s concept of time and its time reference. When the
subscriber searches for a neighbor, it will center the search window on the offset associated with
the neighbor, but based on its own system time (which, of course, is a little late compared with real
system time). Assuming Site 2 to be a neighbor of interest, its signal traverses a distance to
subscriber A that is exactly as late as the subscriber’s time reference. Under these circumstances,
the time differential between the two signals is zero (i.e. X-X = 0) and the signal from Site 2 will
fall directly in the center of the neighbor search window in which the subscriber is searching for
Site 2.
Now, consider subscribers B and B’. Subscriber B is located 1 chip closer to Site 1 with Site 1
active; therefore, subscriber B’s system time is skewed by only X-1. The signal from Site 2
traverses X+1 and the time differential between the two signals is (X-1) - (X+1) = -2; consequently,
the signal from Site 2 is arriving 2 chips late and will appear 2 chips off center in the neighbor
search window. Please note that a 1 chip shift in spatial location has had a 2 chip impact on
the location within the search window. Conversely, subscriber B’ has timing skewed by X+1
while Site 2’s signal traverses only X-1 chips, leading to a time differential of (X+1) - (X-1) or 2
chips. Site 2’s signal is arriving early by 2 chips. To design a search window large enough to
encompass locations B and B’, a search window of at least 4 chips or + 2 chips wide would be
required.
The worst case time differential is when the subscriber is located directly adjacent to one site while
trying to detect or demodulate the signal from the other site. For example, subscriber C effectively
has timing that is coincident with system time (i.e. its skewing is 0). Site 2’s signal is arriving D
Diff = -4 Diff = 4
Diff = -6 Diff = -2 Diff = 2 Diff = 6
Diff = -8 Diff = 8
The two sites are located at (0,0) and (10,0) and are 10 units apart. The curves represent constant
time differentials between the two sites and will correspond to the edges of certain search window
sizes. Search windows will be centered on the perpendicular line half-way between the sites. The
width of the search window in space will correspond to half of the search window size in chips.
For example, the two lines corresponding to time differentials of -4 and +4 demarcate an area that
corresponds to a search window that is + 4 units or 8 units in width. In geographic space, the width
of the area on the line between the two sites will only be 4 units wide or 1/2 of the search window
size. Between the curves, a subscriber tied to one site will see the other site fall within its search
window. Conversely, no matter how strong a neighbor signal may be, if the subscriber is located
outside of the search window area, it will not detect the signal.
Note how the curves bend as the search window is enlarged. When the search window is made
large enough to compensate for the distance between the two sites, the curves collapse upon
themselves indicating that there is no longer any region in space where the signal will not fall
within the search window. In general, a generous attitude toward search window sizing should
exist. The ability to demodulate a signal depends on being able to see it. The table below correlates
distance between neighbors to search window sizes.
( Window Size – 2 )
distance ( miles ) = ---------------------------------------------- × 0.1516 [EQ 5-4]
2
The two chips removed from the Window Size compensate for time-of-flight (i.e. real world)
delays. If starting with a distance between sites to calculate a window size, two chips would need
to be added.
This discussion on search windows was designed to help the system engineer visualize the spatial
relationship of search windows to cell sites. An individual out in the field can estimate how large
a search window would need to be for a particular location by estimating the time differential
between the two sites of interest (use the absolute value only), adding 1 chip (to compensate for
time-of-flight delays), and multiplying by 2.
The following information is provided to give insight to system optimizers and is based on Nokis
Siemens Networks’ general understanding of subscriber vendor pilot scan algorithms. It is
important to note that such algorithms are not specified through IS-95A/J-STD-008 and are,
therefore, manufacturer specific. Also, pilot scanning rates/intervals are a function of many
variables.
In general, active and candidate pilots are scanned at a rate of 50 times/second or better. This would
be valid for up to a total of 6 pilots and is not impacted by the number of neighbors or remaining
set pilots.
Neighbor set pilots are scanned anywhere between 2 to 40 times/second with a common range
being 4 to 15 times/second. The rate is dependent on the number of actives/candidates and
neighbors.
Remaining set pilots are scanned on the order of seconds. The remaining set pilots will be scanned
NR times slower than the neighbors (where NR represents the number of remaining set pilots, a
function of PILOT_INC).
In CDMA system, the parameter TchAcqWinSz is used to specify the traffic channel acquisition
search window size. This parameter is used in soft handoff and its range is calculated based on the
following factors: Cell radius of the current sector-carrier, cell radius of neighboring cells
(including itself), and internal hardware delays.
Starting from R18.0, the calculation of TchAcqWinSz has changed for the following reasons:
• The hardware adjustment needed to account for the delay in the BTS has been elimi-
nated.
• The Extended Range Cell feature 8059 allows the radius of CDMA cells to be expanded
from the current 56 km limit to a maximum of 180 km. The increase in cell radius size
needs to be considered for proper setting of TchAcqWinSz.
• The OMC-R does not restrict operators from entering TchAcqWinSz value outside the
allowed range that the BTS hardware can handle. The OMC-R does not check for input
value of TchAcqWinSz based on MCC hardware. The MCC-1X allowed value is
between 100 and 1500 PN Chips. Whereas the other devices (MCC8/MCC24 card,
SC3XX and SC3XX-1X frames) allowed value is between 100 and 510 PN Chips.
The improper setting of TchAcqWinSz would cause drop calls during soft handoff or
adversely affect the operation of BTS MCCs.
If the Extended Range Cell feature is used, a MCC-1X card is required when:
• The range of the cell is beyond 56 km and the interference cancellation is disabled.
• The range of the cell is beyond 36 km and the interference cancellation is enabled.
The TchAcqWinSz needs to be set correctly by release and MCC hardware type. The formula is
different between Pre-Release 18.0 and Release 18.0 onwards. The steps used to determine proper
TchAcqWinSz are given below.
2 The calculation for TchAcqWinSz in Release 17.0 and earlier releases is as follows:
Where:
X = the cell radius in km of its sector-carrier
Y= the highest cell radius in km of neighboring cells (including itself X)
OneWayDelay = 4.096 chips/km (one way delay)
3 In Release 18.0, if non-MCC-1X card, SC3XX or SC3XX-1X frames are used, the
R17.0 equation is still applicable for calculating TchAcqWinSz. This equation also
applies to BTS frames that are equipped with a mixture of both MCC-1X and non-MCC-
1X cards. The allowed value for TchAcqWinSz is between 100 and 510 PN chips. The
equation change in R18.0 specified in next paragraph is used only if the BTS frame
contains solely MCC-1X cards. In other words, if Feature 8059 is enabled or SC7224
frame is used, the new equation will be used to calculate TchAcqWinSz since both
Feature 8059 and SC7224 frames would require BTS to be equipped with MCC-1X
cards only.
Where:
X = the cell radius in km of its sector-carrier
Y = the highest cell radius in km of neighboring cells (including itself X)
OneWayDelay = 4.096 chips/km (one way delay)
PathDelay = 13 chips (multipath delay)
The TchAcqWinSz range is computed as follows. With Feature 8059, the recommended
range increases proportionally to the cell radius. The allowed range for MCC-1X is
between 100 and 1500 PN chips, while the range for MCC24 cards and SC3xx series
BTS is between 100 and 510 PN chips. This rule is enforced in Release 19.0 where
preconditions are checked at OMC-R client to ensure the input value for TchAcqWinSz
is within the recommended range.
Prior to discussing in detail the planning limits for PILOT_INC, it is important to note the
following concerning R, the radius of the cell site. CDMA’s use of soft handoff makes the radius
of the active area significantly larger than that which is accustomed with analog and which is
associated with a hexagonal grid. Speaking of the radius of a site conveys significant information
since both reuse distance, D, and cluster size, N, are related as follows:
However, with CDMA and soft handoff there is significantly greater overlap between sites. If the
hexagon/analog oriented radius is labeled as Rhex and the CDMA active area radius is labeled as
Rcdma, then it needs to be understood that Rcdma can easily be twice as large as Rhex, perhaps
slightly larger. Many discussions of offset planning have failed to characterize this difference and
consequently lead to faulty conclusions. Specifically, consider a recommendation that suggests
that 5R is sufficient separation for reusing sites. If the R is taken to be Rhex, then D/R would be 5
and the cluster size would be 9. However, if it is understood that R is Rcdma, then D/R would be
more on the order of 10 and the cluster size would be 36, which is a significant difference.
The following explanations, which define the limits of adjacent offset interference based on timing
and signal strength considerations, are not impacted by antenna configuration (whether the sites
are omni, 3-sector, or 6-sector). This attribute simplifies the discussion.
For an adjacent offset to have the potential of falsing, it must meet a timing criteria. That is to say
that it must fall into the search window. This is depicted below:
PILOT_INC
3 6
SRCH_WIN_X = + S
A signal from a potential adjacent interferer must traverse a minimum distance to be able to fall
into the search window of the adjacent offset.
In this equation, S is 1/2 of the search window size. In cases where a boundary exists between
regions using different Pilot Increments, use the larger of the two Pilot Increment values to perform
the calculation. For example, with a PILOT_INC = 3 and SRCH_WIN_N = + 30 chips, this
minimum distance corresponds to 3 x 64 - 30 = 162 chips = 39.5 Km = 24.6 miles. A larger
PILOT_INC provides greater isolation; conversely, larger SRCH_WIN_N values mitigate the
1 64 34 8.3 5.2
2 128 98 23.9 14.9
3 192 162 39.5 24.6
4 256 226 55.1 34.3
5 320 290 70.8 44.0
6 384 354 86.4 53.7
a. For ease of performing mental math, note that each offset of 64 chips contributes a little less
than ~10 miles (9.7) or a little more than ~15 km (15.6). The 30 chip search window accounts
for a 7.3 km or 4.5 mile reduction.
Of course, the value of 60 chips for SRCH_WIN_N is a recommended starting value and will take
on larger or smaller values. Since SRCH_WIN_A is always smaller than SRCH_WIN_N, an
adjacent offset interferer must always travel a greater distance to potentially interfere in the active
search window.
Due to this timing requirement, a general rule can be established concerning placement of an
adjacent offset and its neighbors. They should be located under the PILOT_INC - S umbrella
(Equation 5-6) within the cluster. To the degree that this criteria is met, it eliminates the potential
for adjacent interference within the cluster. The limit of this example is to place adjacents with
sectors that are co-located. Under these conditions, there is no time differential between signals
leaving the site and only distant reflections can possibly achieve the time constraints of
interference, which is highly unlikely.
The timing discussion can be expanded by taking into account signal strength considerations. The
lower bound on PILOT_INC is identified and will correlate to an acceptable C/I threshold.
Consider this equation which seeks to guarantee a bounded interference between correlated pilots,
effectively yielding the PILOT_INC.9
a ⁄ ( law × 10 )
m ≥ ( 10 – 1) × R + S = k × R + S [EQ 5-7]
Number Cluster
R R R S m PILOT_INC
of Valid Size
(km) (miles) (chips) (chips) (chips) (offsets)
Offsets (3-sector)
24.9 15.5 102 80 384 6 85 28
20.9 13.0 85.5 65 320 5 102 34
16.9 10.5 69.1 50 256 4 128 42
12.4 7.7 51.0 40 192 3 170 57
8.0 5.0 32.9 30 128 2 256 85
4.1 2.5 16.8 14 64 1 512 170
A conservative propagation exponent was chosen to compensate for the simplicity of the approach
(for example, the assumption of uniform power at both sites). The C/I threshold was set at 18.0 dB
to correspond to a 12 dB C/I threshold (6 dB fade margin, 90% area reliability w/8dB deviation)
for a 2 cell system. This 12 dB imbalance seems sufficient to predict that the searcher will not select
the interfering energy within the active window. Under unloaded conditions (worst case), this
threshold corresponds to an interferer Ec/Io of -14.9 dB which is below the normal range for the
T-ADD setting; therefore, neighbor window falsing is unlikely. Additionally, to generate the table
values, neighbor search window sizes, which vary with cell radius, were used.
Although these table values seem fairly generous, there is one element mitigating the results. An
appropriate value for R must take into account two factors. First, the R is Rcdma. Additionally, since
path loss is not isotropic and systems are not ideally laid out on grids (i.e. are non-uniform) the
selection of R should reflect a limiting case. Since a system-wide value of PILOT_INC is being
determined, the value of R should more closely represent the 90th percentile rather than the mean.
The radius of highway sites and other larger radius sites that are not clustered need not dominate
the analysis since spatial separation may be used to mitigate interference in those cases.
10. An earlier, more conservative version of this relationship had S also scaled by k.
The following explanations, which define the limits of co-offset interference based on timing and
signal strength considerations are impacted by both the antenna configuration (i.e. omni or sector)
and whether the subscriber is in the active area or in the larger neighbor area. As such, they will
need to be more extensive.
The study of co-offset interference is started by looking at the timing considerations involved in
interfering within the active search window. Consider the following diagrams:
R
B
SActive
SActive
A R A R
It has been stated elsewhere11 that if two users of the same offset where positioned 2R + S away
from each other (where S is 1/2 of the search window size), then the potential for co-offset
interference is avoided due to the timing criteria not being met. From the discussion on search
windows in Section 5.3.4, it can be seen that if two sites met this criteria for separation, then the
search window would spatially fall completely outside of R. For the sectorized case, the
requirement was modified to R+S.
While meeting this criteria is sufficient to protect against interference within the active search
window, it does not protect against falsing within the neighbor search window. From a timing
perspective, neighbor falsing will be limiting. Consider the following diagrams:
11. Qualcomm, “The CDMA Network Engineering Handbook”, March 1, 1993, §9.4.2.
• There can be no common neighbors among users with the same offset, no sector may
share an offset assignment with one of its neighbors nor may any of its neighbors share
the same offset assignment.
• A’s Neighbor Area is limited to 3R + SActive for omni and 2R + SActive for sector.
• For omni systems, B must be separated by SNeighbor from A’s Neighbor Area to avoid
neighbor falsing.
• For sector systems, B possesses back-side neighbors (i.e. the co-located sectors) which
must be separated by SActive from A’s Neighbor Area to avoid sharing common
neighbors.
The conclusions from this exercise are summarized in the following table:
Table 5-6: Estimates of Reuse Distance and Cluster Size Based on Timing
(assuming Rcdma = 2Rhex, SNeighbor ≅ 2Rhex and SActive ≅ 1Rhex)
Antenna Configuration Reuse Distance Equation Reuse Distance Cluster Size
Omni 4Rcdma + SActive + SNeighbor 11Rhex 43
Sector 3Rcdma + 2 x SActive 8Rhex ~21
The previous analysis, though simple, can help establish a safe margin easily. A somewhat more
detailed analysis below may help determine an absolute minimum reuse distance based on timing.
Sector 0
Top 10 Neighbors
11 - 16 Neighbors
1 2
1 1
1 1 2
2 0 2
1 1 2
1 1
1 2
To help visualize the true requirements of the situation, consider Figure 5-8. The sector labelled
with 0 represents the sector of interest. The active area for this sector is depicted in yellow.
Depicted in blue is all of the active area pertaining to the top 10 neighbors. (As with search window
sizing, it is also recommended to be generous with neighbor lists.) Keep in mind that the blue area
represents the neighbor area to which is being referenced. That is to say, areas where a subscriber
might be looking for the offset of sector 0 even though it is well outside of the area where sector 0
is actively demodulated. By this means alone, the neighbor area represents an expansion of greater
than 300% over the active area. If the next six most significant neighbors (sectors labelled 2) were
included as neighbors, the neighbor area expands even further (area depicted in cyan). Note how
both the front and back of sector 0 have neighbor search areas. The front is more pronounced while
the back is affected mostly by the co-located sectors. (These neighbor relationships and subscriber
locations are based on soft handoff relationships identified through CDMA static simulations for
an ideal grid and uniform distribution.)
Estimates based on this perspective will prove more optimistic than those derived earlier since they
account for the overlapping of cells and they better estimate the true neighbor area size.
Note: To take advantage of sectorization, the planner must reuse offsets with the same orientation.
The CBSC (i.e. the XC subsystem) translates phase measurements to offsets by pooling them to
the nearest valid offset based on its knowledge of PILOT_INC. The value of PILOT_INC can be
set either at the CBSC level (system wide) or on a per sector/carrier level (as when using the
Extended Range Cell feature). For correct identification, this process assumes that the
PILOT_ARRIVAL component of the phase measurement never exceeds 1/2 of PILOT_INC. As a
check on the selection of PILOT_INC, planners should ask whether or not locations exist within
the system where subscribers may be active with a site at a distance greater than 1/2 of
PILOT_INC. [Note: the process by which phase measurements are translated to offset indices is
not specified by IS-95A/J-STD-008.
0 3 6 9 12
pilot phase reported by subscriber in PSMM
0 3 6 9 12
SRCH_WIN_N
Now, compare the relationship between SRCH_WIN_N and PILOT_INC. It is a rule that
SRCH_WIN_N (and SRCH_WIN_R) never exceed PILOT_INC. The consequences of doing so
are that the two adjacent windows would overlap. The BS may incorrectly identify the offset and
The following information is provided to give insight to system optimizers and is based on Nokia
Siemens Networks’ general understanding of subscriber vendor pilot scan algorithms. It is
important to note that such algorithms are not specified through IS-95A/J-STD-008 and are,
therefore, manufacturer specific.
As was noted in the definition of PILOT_INC, according to IS-95A/J-STD-008, the only impact
of PILOT_INC on the subscriber is to influence the scanning rate of remaining set pilots. Please
note that for optimum system performance, the scanning rate of remaining set pilots is not
considered a dominant factor in determining the size of PILOT_INC. Remaining set pilots are at a
distinct disadvantage over neighbor set pilots due to the scanning prioritization of pilot sets. For
example, all active and candidate set pilots are scanned between scans of individual neighbor or
remaining set pilots. All neighbor set pilots are scanned between scans of individual remaining set
pilots. The scanning order is represented as follows for 3 active set pilots and 1 candidate set pilot
[please remember that the actual scanning order is subscriber manufacturer specific]:
A1A2A3C1N1A1A2A3C1N2A1A2A3C1N3...
A1A2A3C1NNA1A2A3C1R1A1A2A3C1N1...
A1A2A3C1NNA1A2A3C1RN
Begin again from the top.
A remaining set pilot is scanned N times slower than a neighbor set pilot where N is the number of
remaining set pilots. In addition to their low scanning priority, IS-98 specifies no performance
criteria for remaining set pilots.
Any remaining set pilot that appears strong enough (and long enough) to recommend promotion to
the active set needs to be analyzed as part of the optimization process. Perhaps, it should be added
to the neighbor list (or have its coverage adjusted). Feedback on these events can be derived from
callproc logs in the pre-commercial phase and Call Detail Logs (CDL and vCDL) in the
commercial phase.
Note: Since remaining set pilots are prioritized low and, currently, Nokia Siemens Networks does
not honor requests to enter into soft handoff with a remaining set pilot, some operators have
considered reducing SRCH_WIN_R to a minimum (i.e. 4 chips) and trading off the remaining set
scan time for improved scan time on actives, candidates and neighbors. This is not recommended.
The most significant reason is that the remaining set search window provides a means by which
“truncated” neighbors can be recognized by the system. When in soft/softer handoff, a merging of
neighbor lists take place. If the merge yields more than 20 neighbors, the subscriber limit of 20
neighbors requires that the list be truncated to only higher prioritized neighbors. Although these
The table below and the following text provide a summary of the PN offset planning guidelines.
PILOT_INC
Comments
8a 6 4 3 2 1
C/I (5km/10km)b 40.3/ 36.6/ 31.3/ 27.8/ 20.4/ 16.1/ adjacent offset -
31.9 28.3 23.4 20.2 15.9 10.4 PCS
C/I (8km/16km) 34.5/ 30.9/ 25.9/ 22.5/ 18.0/ 12.1/ adjacent offset - 800
26.4 23.0 18.5 15.6 11.9 7.4
PILOT_INC - S (km) 105.4 77.8 50.2 37.1 23.9 12.2 adjacent offset
PILOT_INC/2 (km) 62.5 46.8 31.2 23.4 15.6 7.8 Neighbor Proximity
Check?
a. The maximum Pilot Increment value is 15. Pilot Increment values larger than 8 may be required for some
cells if the Extended Range Cell feature is used.
b. C/I = 30 log ( ( m – S ) ⁄ R + 1 ) Refer to Section 5.4.1.2.
1. Minimum cluster size is 19 for 3-sector or 6-sector systems. Refer to Section 5.4.2 for
details.
2. Maximum PILOT_INC is 8 for 3-sector and 4 for 6-sector. This correlates to the
minimum cluster size.
3. For Suburban environments at 1900 MHz, minimum PILOT_INC is 3 (based on a
minimum C/I threshold of 18.5 dB and unloaded carriers). This will serve the Urban/
Dense Urban areas as well.
Note: Due to the approximate 9 dB difference between path loss at 1900 MHz and 800
MHz, PCS systems have smaller sites and consequently lower minimum PILOT_INC
values.
4. For Suburban environments at 800 MHz, minimum PILOT_INC is 4 (based on a
minimum C/I threshold of 18.5 dB and unloaded carriers). This will serve the Urban/
Dense Urban areas as well.
5. PILOT_INC must be larger than the Neighbor and Remaining Set search windows,
SRCH_WIN_N and SRCH_WIN_R. All timing differentials must be less than
PILOT_INC/2. Carefully review the system design for any neighbors that are separated
by more than PILOT_INC/2 since potentially these neighbors can generate sufficiently
large timing differentials to cause translation errors (i.e. Neighbor Proximity Check).
Refer to Section 5.4.3 for details.
6. To eliminate the potential for adjacent interference within a cluster, an adjacent offset
and its neighbors should be separated from the potential interferer by a distance no
greater than PILOT_INC - S. The distance PILOT_INC/2 is a safer limit (since S is a
variable with an upper limit of PILOT_INC/2). This criteria can best be met by either
co-locating the adjacent offsets within the same site or by assigning them to 1st tier
neighbors. Refer to Section 5.4.1.1 for details.
7. If the system is truly characterized by Urban/Dense Urban environments, then smaller
PILOT_INC values may be justified. If an entire CBSC is characterized by smaller radii,
then that CBSC may have its PILOT_INC set lower.
8. Small sized trials are very easy to plan for. The largest PILOT_INC which will not
require the trial system to have any reuse at all is suggested. Under these conditions, co-
offset interference is non-existent and adjacent interference protection is maximized. If
the PILOT_INC is selected to be a multiple of that which will ultimately be
migrated to, then implementing changes in PILOT_INC later will not force a
change to the sector level PN offset assignments.
9. Multiple carriers in a sector are all assigned the same PN offset.
10. The implementation of CDMA at 1900 MHz is, generally, not tied to an already existing
analog base with its locations and antennas where significant cell splitting has taken
place. The site grid should be more uniform than the mature analog counterpart. This
should lend itself to a simpler repeat pattern implementation.
11. From a practical perspective, it should be understood that the majority of Nokia Siemens
Networks systems that are commercial use a PILOT_INC in the range of 2 to 4. The
It has already been explained that there should be a goal for locating adjacent offsets close to each
other. In the figure below, the Adjacent Sectors configuration shows co-located sectors containing
adjacent offsets. This represents the absolute limit on how close adjacent offsets can be located.
Under these conditions, two-thirds of all adjacent assignments (for 3 sector sites) will have reduced
the time differential to zero. For the remaining third, the adjacent offset is located in an adjacent
site. This approach also has the benefit of easy recognition of co-located sectors during system
optimization.
Figure 5-10: Adjacent Sector and Adjacent Site Offset Assignment Approaches
ADJACENT SECTORS ADJACENT SITES
3 6
6 174
9 342
12 9
15 177
18 345
Previously, this has been the only recommendation. There is now an alternative recommendation,
Adjacent Sites, which locates all adjacent offset assignments within adjacent sites (and not within
adjacent sectors of the same site). The Adjacent Sites approach has Offset Groupings associated
with it that are found in Table 5-9 and Table 5-10. Although this represents a slight compromise
with respect to the timing margin of the Adjacent Sectors configuration, there are several
characteristics with this approach that make it worth recommending:
• Virtually all adjacent offsets possess the same antenna orientation (as co-offsets
normally do). This provides an additional measure of interference protection and
simplifies system optimization.
• A uniform increment of 168 exists between co-located sectors regardless of the
PILOT_INC in use. This will help optimization through easier recognition of co-site
offsets. (The Adjacent Sectors approach also benefits from easy recognition of co-site
offsets.)
Generic information on reuse patterns can be found in Section 5.5. Here are some possible cluster
configurations:
11 16 25 2
14 3 29 18 7
4 30 19 8
42 22 48 2 28 8 34 14
23 49 3 29 9 35 15
50 4 30 10 36 16
5 31
Note - Larger values of PILOT_INC (up to 15) may be deployed in support of Extended Range
Cells. In these situations, the number of PN values available for reuse patterns may be restricted
(see Section 5.4.7 below).
CDMA sites of similar coverage radius that are in close proximity to each other are normally
assigned a common PILOT_INC. This allows the application of PN Offset planning rules given
above to be used for an orderly assignment of PN Offsets to each sector. Maintaining one
PILOT_INC for the sites associated with a CBSC used to be mandatory and is still a common
implementation. Intra-CBSC multiple PILOT_INC boundaries only exist when the Extended
Range Cell feature is utilized.
For a given system there may exist situations where maintaining the same PILOT_INC for all sites
may not be optimum. One situation that may be encountered is when two adjacent CBSCs that
share a coverage boundary are deployed using different PILOT_INC values.
A second situation encountered is when the coverage area of a CBSC requires more than one
PILOT_INC. This is done to accommodate an outlying coverage region that has sites (such as
Extended Range Cells) that provide significantly greater cell coverage radius than the inner sites.
The multiple PILOT_INC is based on the Extended Range Cell feature introduced in R18. With
Extended Range Cells, certain BTS hardware needs to be in place (e.g. BBX1X, MCC24 or
MCC1X)). The inner sites in this situation would be assigned smaller PILOT_INC values than the
outlying coverage region sites.
1. The neighbors of the active sectors have PN offsets in multiples of Pilot Increment
associated with active sectors.
2. The sectors in the active set and all their respective neighbors are placed such that delay
of Pilot Increment (of the active sector) /2 chips between active set sectors and their
neighbors is not exceeded.
90
12 3 102
18 9 96
15 6
The challenge in transitioning the boundary between two coverage areas with differing
PILOT_INC is characterized by subscribers in the coverage region with the larger PILOT_INC
seeing a site from the coverage region with the smaller PILOT_INC. The CBSC may not interpret
the phase correctly for the reported site because a different PILOT_INC is in use. For the example
in Figure 5-11, Coverage Region A is using a PILOT_INC of 3 and Coverage Region B is using a
PILOT_INC of 6. A subscriber (X) tied to Coverage Region B sees a Coverage Region A site using
offset 39 and reports it in a PSMM. Coverage Region B will interpret the offset as either 36 or 42,
because it does not recognize 39. This problem does not manifest itself in the other direction since
all multiples of 6 are already multiples of 3.
The following guidelines should be followed in selecting the PN Offset values along the
boundaries of such regions:
• A transition zone should be planned on the boundary between the region with the
smaller Pilot_Inc and the region with the larger Pilot_Inc. This is done to facilitate the
transition by the mobile from one Pilot_Inc setting to the other.
• Within this transition zone the Pilot Offsets must be selected so that they can be resolved
correctly by the CBSC regardless of which of the two Pilot_Inc values is/are in use.
This can be achieved by ensuring that each Pilot Offset in the transition zone is divisible
by the lowest common multiple of the two Pilot_Inc values.
• The spacing of the sites within the transition zone must be such that the maximum dis-
tance of each sector from its neighbors does not exceed a delay of Pilot_Inc / 2 chips,
calculated using the lower of the two Pilot_Inc values present along the boundary
• The same PN offset planning rules apply for both inter and intra CBSC handoffs.
5.6 References
Prior discussions of topics significant to PN Offset Planning which are useful references include
the following:
1. TIA/EIA/IS-95A, Mobile Station-Base Station Compatibility Standard for Dual-Mode
Wideband Spread Spectrum Cellular System, version 0.07, §6.1.5.1, §6.6.6.1.2,
§6.6.6.2.1, §6.6.6.2.4.
5. Jin Yang, Derek Bao and Mo Ali (Airtouch Cellular), “PN offset planning in IS-95
based CDMA systems”, 1997 IEEE 47th Vehicular Technology Conference, May 4-7,
1997.
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6 6 RF Antenna
Systems
Table of Contents
6 RF Antenna Systems
6.1 Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-3
The guidelines below are intended to assure the most efficient implementation of Nokia Siemens
Networks’ CDMA system while minimizing the risk to other fixed and mobile radio operators.
If separate omni-directional type transmit antennas are to be used for the CDMA system (e.g. no
antenna sharing), a type similar to those used for other cellular technologies, such as AMPS or
GSM, can be used, obviously dependent on the required antenna operating frequency
specifications.
The same convention is basically held for sector type directional CDMA antennas, with the
exception of the consideration of desired beamwidths. Typically, antennas with narrower
horizontal beamwidths than their AMPS or GSM supporting counterparts are used for CDMA to
help limit noise contribution to adjacent sectors. As a result, suitable antenna types should be
chosen if the CDMA system being installed is not to share antennas currently existing at the site.
Sufficient isolation between CDMA antennas and other existing antennas at the site should be
readily obtained. Considering that physical separation between co-located antennas may be
required to assist in achieving this isolation, physically smaller antenna types may be required to
allow for proper installation on the tower.
In general, the log-periodic reflector type directional antennas have smaller height and width
dimensions for the same forward gain than dipole panel antennas or collinear dipole reflector type
antennas. They, of course, have a larger dimension in the direction of maximum gain due to the
length of the log-periodic array(s) which form the overall antenna system. Because of the smaller
area occupied on the face of the tower or its platform, it should be possible to fit at least seven of
these antennas in the same space originally allocated for the AMPS sector antennas.
Log-periodic reflector type antennas also appear to have excellent front-to-back and front-to-side
ratios. It appears that the isolation between adjacent antennas is significantly higher than for dipole
type directional antennas. This is based on measured data taken by Allgon System AB on their line
Special consideration should be given to the antenna bandwidth. If the use of duplexers is required
then a wideband antenna capable of supporting the primary and the secondary CDMA carriers
should be selected (see tables below)
Table 6-1: CDMA Carrier Frequency Range
A 1850-1865/1930-1945
D 1865-1870/1945-1950
B 1870-1885/1950-1965
E 1885-1890/1965-1970
F 1890-1895/1970-1975
C 1895-1910/1975-1990
G 1910-1915/1990-1995
This is often referred to as "power gain" and is the ratio of the maximum radiation in a given
direction to that of a reference antenna in the same direction for equal power input. Usually this
gain is referenced to either an isotropic antenna or a half wave dipole in free space at 0° elevation.
An isotropic reference (dBi) generally pertains to a theoretical antenna having a spherical radiation
pattern with equal gain in all directions. When used as a gain reference, the isotropic antenna has
a power of 0 dBi. The halfwave dipole (dBd) is an antenna which is center fed as to have equal
current distribution in both halves. When used as a theoretical reference antenna it has a power gain
of 0 dBd, which equates to a 2.14 dB difference compared to an Isotropic antenna. For a graphical
representation of the different antenna patterns, please refer to the following figure.
The gain of the antenna will impact other antenna characteristics such as: size, weight, horizontal
beamwidth, vertical beamwidth, cost. The RF Engineer will need to select the appropriate antenna
for the particular situation. A trade-off will need to be made by the RF Engineer as to whether a
higher gain or lower gain antenna should be chosen. The higher gain antenna typically is physically
larger, more expensive and has a narrower vertical beamwidth than would a lower gain antenna.
The gain of an antenna has a direct interaction with other antenna parameters, (the technical depth
of which is beyond the scope of this document). The following paragraphs will provide the system
engineer with general guidelines:
Vertical Beamwidth - Generally, the greater the gain of the antenna, the narrower the vertical
beamwidth. The vertical beam can be used to focus coverage in some circumstances, but the
engineer should ensure that the optimum vertical beamwidth is used to prevent the creation of
"nulls" or coverage holes near to the site.
Physical Size - The size of an antenna will generally be greater as an antenna gain increases. This
is due to the greater number of dipole array and electrical elements required to reach the desired
gain. The system engineer should remember that PCS frequencies are approximately half the
wavelength of 800 MHz and therefore the antennas will typically be smaller for a common gain.
Antenna beamwidth is measured in degrees between the half power points (3 dB) of the major lobe
of the antenna. Beamwidth can be expressed in terms of azimuth (horizontal or H-plane) and
elevation (vertical or E-plane).
The predominant type of antenna configuration within urban areas will be three sectored. This
implies that each sector should utilize an antenna with 120° horizontal beamwidth; however, it has
been found through simulation that the use of 120° antennas provide too much overlap. As the
coverage of any sector within a CDMA system is directly affected by the noise generated by its
neighboring sectors and traffic within those sectors, the use of 120° can lead to reduced coverage
area through the rise in system noise. The excessive overlap of sectors can also lead to increased
softer handoff and therefore the reduction of call processing capability.
If narrow horizontal beamwidth antennas are used, for example 60°, simulation has shown that
insufficient coverage (i.e. coverage holes) can exist between adjacent sectors. The use of 60° high
gain antennas can also restrict the vertical beamwidth and can lead to coverage nulls close to the
cell site.
From current simulation, the optimum horizontal antenna beamwidth for PCS systems has been
found to be between 90° and 100°. This beamwidth has been proven to minimize softer handoff
while providing adequate coverage. However, before choosing an antenna of this beamwidth, the
system engineer should ensure that all factors outlined within this "Antenna Parameters" section
have been identified.
Voltage Standing Wave Ratio (VSWR) is another parameter used to describe an antenna
performance. It deals with the impedance match of the antenna feed point to the feed or
transmission line. The antenna input impedance establishes a load on the transmission line as well
as on the radio link transmitter and receiver. To have RF energy produced by the transmitter
radiated with minimum loss or the energy picked up by the antenna passed to the receiver with
minimum loss, the input or base impedance of the antenna must be matched to the characteristics
of the transmission line. The VSWR of a CDMA antenna should be less than 1.5:1.
Return Loss (RL) is the decibel difference between the power incident upon a mismatched
continuity and the power reflected from that discontinuity. Return loss is related to the reflection
coefficient (p) and VSWR as follows;
All other things being equal, the higher the antenna return loss, the better the antenna. The system
engineer should choose an antenna with a return loss of 14 dB or better. Note that 14 dB
corresponds to a VSWR of 1.5:1 as per the following example;
The Power Rating of an antenna is the maximum power, normally expressed in Watts that the
antenna will pass without degraded performance. Typical values for the power rating of an antenna
are between 300 and 500 Watts. As CDMA will employ a smaller number of carriers and due to
the losses associated with combining, the power rating of an antenna is not expected to be a limiting
factor for antenna choice. Even so, when choosing an antenna, the system engineer should consider
system expansion and the theoretical maximum configuration of carriers that could be placed onto
a single antenna (please refer to Section 6.4.2).
The front to back ratio of an antenna is an important measure of performance. It is the ratio of the
power radiated from the main ray beam forward to that radiated from the back lobe behind the
antenna. Front to back ratio is normally expressed in terms of dB. This means that a signal at the
back of the antenna should be X dB down on a signal at a mirror angle in front of the antenna. The
front to back ratio for a typical CDMA antenna should be in the region of 25 dB.
Side and Back lobes are those undesirable directions where the chosen "directional" antenna may
present gain. The system engineer should pay particular attention to these characteristics when
downtilting an antenna, the mechanical downtilting of an antenna will directly affect the radiation
of both side and back lobes. The mounting of panel antennas on buildings or the use of antenna
with electronic down/up tilt are two possible ways to limit back lobe interference.
The system engineer should choose the optimum directivity and gain of an antenna while limiting
the number of side lobes and the strength of the back lobe (refer to previous paragraph - front to
back ratio).
Downtilting is the method of effectively adjusting the vertical radiation pattern of the antenna to
direct the main energy more downwards and reduce the energy directed towards the horizon.
Downtilting can be used to increase the amount of coverage close to the site where "nulls" (holes)
may exist due to the effective height of the antenna. Downtilting can also be used to reduce "pilot
pollution" caused by reflections or undesired RF propagation beyond a predetermined footprint.
There are principally two types of antenna downtilting possible, mechanical and electronic.
The second method of downtilting that can be used is electronic downtilt. This is the only way to
implement downtilt for an omni directional antenna. The level of electronic downtilt for an antenna
can be preset and ordered directly from the antenna manufacturer. The system engineer should be
aware that electronic antenna downtilt is preset. Thus, the field adjustment of downtilt and
therefore vertical radiation can not normally be reduced. There are antenna suppliers that provide
the capability of being able to alter the downtilt characteristics of the antenna from the base of the
cell site. This may take the form of motors to perform the physical downtilt or electronics used to
alter the electrical characteristics of the antenna. Refer to the numerous antenna vendors for the
various antennas that they supply.
The system engineer should also remember that the amount of gain in the antenna will also have a
direct affect both on the physical size of the antenna and the vertical beamwidth. If a low gain
antenna is utilized, the vertical beamwidth will be relatively broad and therefore the benefits of
downtilting will be minimal.
In general the 6 dB per octave rule will apply to the cell site antenna height in a flat terrain, that is
doubling the antenna height causes a gain increase of 6 dB. The system engineer should compare
this possible gain height increase with the effects of doubling the transmission line loss and the
possible appearance of nulls close to the site.
Figure 6-2 shows the comparative number of cell sites required for a given area based upon
differing base station antenna heights and the Cost-231 Hata propagation model (i.e. flat terrain
only). If 100 ft. (30 m) is considered as the reference point, the system engineer should note that
by doubling the antenna height to 200 ft., there is a reduction of 50% in cell sites required.
The placement of required CDMA antennas will typically depend on two main factors:
• the isolation required between the CDMA antennas to be installed and other antennas
existing at the site
• the amount of spatial diversity provided between CDMA Rx antennas.
It is important that enough physical separation be used between affected antennas to ensure the best
possible performance of the CDMA BTS while minimizing the threat of interference to/from other
co-located technologies. The following sections discuss the above considerations in more detail.
The following recommendations are general guidelines on the base station antenna isolation
required between two or more of the following radio systems:
Tx to Tx Antenna Isolation: There must be sufficient isolation between any two transmit antennas
to attenuate the signals from one antenna sufficiently before they enter another transmit antenna
and create transmitter IM products in the associated transmitters that are strong enough to cause a
problem for the system.
Rx to Rx Antenna Isolation: For adequate receive diversity performance there must be sufficient
spacing between the two antennas to achieve the desired degree of de-correlation of the two
receiver feeds for the signals being received.
Tx to Rx Antenna Isolation: The isolation between the transmit and receive antennas at a cell site
must be high enough to provide sufficient attenuation to eliminate the following three potential
problems:
1. Receiver overload caused by the high level transmit carriers being picked up by the
receive antennas and causing receiver desensitization and/or generating IM or cross-
modulation products within the receiver which interfere with the reception of the desired
signals.
2. Interference with the reception of the desired signals caused by transmitter sideband
noise and/or spurious signals generated in the transmitter which fall in the receive band
and whose energy is radiated from the transmit antennas and picked up by the receive
antennas.
3. Interference with the reception of the desired signals caused by transmit IM products
falling in the receive band that are generated in the transmit antenna systems consisting
of feed line and jumper connectors and/or the transmit antennas themselves. These IM
products are produced after the transmitter output filtering and therefore cannot be
eliminated by any transmitter filtering. These IM products will be radiated by the
transmit antennas and picked up by the receive antennas.
Also included in this section are several antenna placement examples as well as a discussion of
some typical isolations that can be expected between various combinations of 800 MHz and 1900
MHz antennas.
Additional base station antenna isolation requirements, involving scenarios such as the co-location
of 800 MHz CDMA and TACS antennas, the co-location of DCS 1800 and PCS 1900 CDMA
antenna and the co-location of PCS 1900 CDMA and microwave antennas, are considered in
Chapter 9.
The following sections provide the calculations for antenna isolation requirements.
CDMA Tx - CDMA Tx
The maximum Tx reverse signal that can be applied to a BTS Tx port is +30 dBm (1 Watt). A
typical high power LPA can deliver +50 dBm (100 Watts) to the antenna system. Taking into
consideration the coupling from the adjacent sectors, the minimum antenna-to-antenna isolation
should be:
50 dBm + 3 dB - 30 dBm = 23 dB
Since the minimum AMPS transmit antenna-to-antenna isolation is typically 20 dB, the worst case
antenna isolation required between any AMPS and CDMA transmit antenna combination will be
chosen to be 23 dB. (This applies to both 800 and 1900 MHz transmit antennas.)
A minimum isolation of 20 dB is desired between any two antennas. This would apply to separate
AMPS and CDMA receive antennas mounted in close proximity to each other. When evaluating
two receive antennas connected to the same BTS for diversity reception, a more important factor
is the spatial separation of the two antennas. If their responses are uncorrelated to fading, good
diversity reception is assured. (According to Lee, William C.Y. in “Mobile Cellular
Telecommunications Systems”, uncorrelated antennas require from 8 to 14 wavelengths of
horizontal separation. This equates to about 3 to 5 meters at 800 MHz or about half that much at
1900 MHz.) The internal requirement of the BTS is 20 dB isolation, so the antenna system need
only be 20 dB also. The physical spacing required for spatial separation greatly exceeds 20 dB of
isolation between the two receive antennas.
In Cases 1 through 3 below, Transmit to Receive Antenna Isolation requirements are estimated
based on reducing transmitter noise and spurs in the receive band to the point where only 0.5 dB
of receiver noise floor rise or receiver threshold sensitivity is produced. If either more or less
degradation is tolerable, the information given in Table 6-3 can be used to modify them as desired.
Similarly, if specific information as to the transmitter noise and spurious signal levels for a
particular Base Station model of interest is known, Cases 1 through 3 can be used as a guide.
Table 6-3: Degradation to Sensitivity Based on Noise Level Below kTBF
Noise level below kTBF Degradation to sensitivity
16 dB 0.1 dB
13 dB 0.2 dB
9 dB 0.5 dB
6 dB 1.0 dB
From Table 6-3, a 0.5 dB sensitivity degradation occurs when the transmitter noise is at
a level of 9 dB below kTBF. For a CDMA receiver with a Noise Figure of 4 dB, kTBF is
-109 dBm. This results in a maximum acceptable interference power of -118 dBm.
Typical CDMA Tx noise level due to CDMA spurs (CDMA Tx IM) in the receive band
is less than -85 dBm in a 1 MHz bandwidth. In the CDMA receiver bandwidth of 1.2288
MHz this is -84 dBm. The resulting antenna-to-antenna isolation requirement for 0.5 dB
sensitivity degradation is:
The AMPS Tx specification requires the AMPS Rx band spurs to be at a maximum level
of -90 dBm/30 kHz. The total Tx SBN and spurs in the CDMA Rx band is maintained at
-85 dBm/1 MHz with proper frequency planning (no 3rd order IM inside CDMA Rx).
The resulting antenna-to-antenna isolation requirement for a 0.5 dB degradation is:
Typical CDMA Tx noise level due to CDMA spurs (CDMA Tx IM) in the receive band
is less than -85 dBm in a bandwidth of 1 MHz. This is -100 dBm in the AMPS receiver
bandwidth of 30 kHz. The kTBF for a typical AMPS receiver is -123 dBm. Using Table
6-3, 0.5 dB sensitivity degradation occurs when the Transmitter noise is 9 dB below
kTBF, which is -132 dBm in this case. The resulting antenna-to-antenna isolation
requirement for 0.5 dB sensitivity degradation is:
Since the required isolation between the Tx-Tx, Rx-Rx, and Tx-Rx pairs of antennas is for the most
part identical for all of the combinations of both 800 MHz AMPS/CDMA and 1900 MHz CDMA
PCS systems, it is appropriate that a single set of isolation requirements should be adopted. Table
6-4 summarizes the isolation requirements between two transmit antennas, two receive antennas,
or a transmit and receive antenna pair which share a common location and are operating in the 800
MHz Cellular and/or 1900 MHz PCS bands and utilizing analog or CDMA technology.
The antenna isolation requirements in Table 6-4 represent the port-to-port isolation between the
equipment end of the bottom jumper of one antenna system to the equipment end of the bottom
jumper of the other antenna system. Therefore, if the combined jumper and main transmission line
losses of the transmit and receive antenna systems are say 5 dB then the required isolation between
the two antennas themselves would only have to be 29 dB to achieve the required 34 dB port-to-
port isolation listed in Table 6-4.
The Tx-Rx isolation can be measured by feeding a test signal into the transmit antenna bottom
jumper input (normally connected to the transmitter output port) and measuring the level of the
signal at the output end of the receive antenna bottom jumper (normally connected to the receiver
input port).
A typical measurement setup for port-to-port isolation between two antennas is a signal generator
feeding the desired transmit frequency (at a level of about -20 dBm) into the transmit antenna
bottom jumper and a spectrum analyzer or calibrated test receiver (adjusted to measure the level of
the transmit test signal) connected to the receive antenna bottom jumper. The difference between
the received level and signal generator test level is the port-to-port isolation. For example, if the
level of the received signal is -60 dBm for a signal generator output level of -20 dBm, the port-to-
port isolation would be 40 dB.
Except for overload of the victim receiver front ends by interfering transmit carriers, which require
a minimum isolation between the transmit and receive antennas of 20 dB, all of the isolation
requirements above 20 dB outlined above are due to the effects of either the noise energy or IM
If the receive band attenuation of the bandpass filter in the output of an interfering LPA is increased
(or additional external receiver band filtering is added), the required antenna isolation may be
reduced. However, transmitter IM products generated by hardware in the RF path following the
bandpass or an added external filter may limit the amount of improvement that can be achieved.
For 800 MHz directional panel antennas it should be possible to achieve 25-30 dB of isolation with
0.45-0.6 meters of spacing and 35 dB or so at 1 meter of horizontal spacing. However, reflections
from the tower structure and coupling effects from other antennas may reduce the isolation
obtainable. This is especially true for the advertised front-to-back ratios for many directional
antennas which do not have metal reflector panels on the back sides of the panel structures.
1900 MHz PCS directional panel antennas should be able to achieve isolation levels comparable
to similar 800 MHz types at spacings approaching half of the 800 MHz spacings. Because of this
the tower platform sizes at 1900 MHz can be significantly smaller than those at 800 MHz.
On the basis of limited testing by several of the antenna vendors it would appear that the cross band
isolation between 800 MHz and 1900 MHz antennas in close proximity can run 10-15 dB better
than the same band isolation would be for similar physical spacings. Because of differences
between various antenna types, the actual antenna isolation of a proposed site sharing configuration
should be measured using the techniques in Section 6.3.1.2.
In consideration of the above isolation requirements, Nokia Siemens Networks recommends that
any required CDMA antennas be mounted on the tower above or below any existing antennas
being used by other wireless technologies such that superior isolation provided by vertical spacing
is obtained while at the same time providing the required CDMA coverage to the surrounding area.
The goal of this approach is to leave any existing antennas untouched. If, however, CDMA
antennas are to be installed on a tower platform that is already supporting antennas from other
technologies (provided that enough isolation is provided), it may be necessary to replace the
existing antennas with smaller antennas to physically accommodate the newly-added CDMA
Figure 6-4 provides an antenna placement example using a “separate” platform approach.
34 dB of isolation 34 dB of isolation
required required
With reference to Figure 6-3, the shared platform approach can be readily utilized for an 800 MHz
AMPS/CDMA configuration with shared receive antennas and one or two sets of separate transmit
antennas. An eight antenna configuration involving two receive and two transmit antennas for each
For 800 MHz and 1900 MHz shared sites, the separate platform approach would appear to be the
better choice, not that sufficient isolation could not be obtained with the single platform but
because of the potential for conflicts should either of the systems want to change existing antennas
or add additional antennas. Any physical changes in the antennas for one system could impact the
other system because of a reduction in antenna isolations on the same platform. Separate platforms
will normally provide a higher degree of isolation between the two systems which reduces the
possibility of "political problems" between the two systems when either system desires changes in
their antennas.
The CDMA system employs time, space and frequency diversity. Spatial diversity is implemented
through the use of two receive antennas at the base station, commonly called "Antenna Diversity".
Receive antenna diversity is employed at the base site to improve the uplink by approximately 3 to
5 dB. The gain obtained by spatial diversity is based on the assumption that the signals received by
the two separated antennas are not correlated or have a low degree of correlation, the affects of
fading on one path will therefore be independent from the second. The 3 to 5 dB improvement is
already incorporated into the equipment Eb/No receiver sensitivity specification. Note that if
horizontal diversity is not utilized, the equipment performance may degrade.
The conventional method for determining the minimum separation for horizontal antennas to
achieve non correlation is normally expressed as a factor of the wavelength (equal to the speed of
light/frequency). The recommendation for standard cellular implementation (800 MHz) has
generally been accepted as 10 times the wavelength (lambda). This figure should only be
considered as an average distance as the level of correlation for horizontal diversity can also be
affected by a number of variables, for example; the height of the antennas, the type of surrounding
clutter (i.e. the level of multipath) and the typical angular arrival of the signals (i.e. are the antennas
mounted perpendicular to a highway). See IEEE reference paper.
CELLULAR AND PCS PROPAGATION MEASUREMENTS
AND STATISTICAL MODELS FOR URBAN MULTIPATH
ON AN ANTENNA ARRAY
http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/iel5/7043/18961/00877962.pdf
As the wavelength of PCS frequencies is approximately half that of conventional cellular, the
diversity antenna separation for PCS will effectively be half that of 800 MHz systems. The antenna
separation of 10 lambda at the base site is considered sufficient for the non correlation of uplink
signals within an urban environment (obviously greater than 10 lambda will provide even less
Note that Lee’s equation utilizes the antenna height in addition to frequency to determine the
minimum horizontal diversity separation. This equation can be used as a more accurate planning
guideline where the antenna height is known.
Frequency: 1850 MHz Wavelength: 16 cm Diversity distance (x10): 1.6 m (5.3 ft.)
It is believed that the horizontal separation of 5.3 (ft.) is an achievable separation distance for PCS
cell site installations. Field trials and performance tests on PCS systems will determine if this
minimum separation can be reduced under certain conditions.
The vertical separation of two diversity antennas could be an appealing alternative for CDMA
operators where the location of two horizontally separated antennas is hard to achieve.
Unfortunately, the system engineer should be aware that the vertical separation of antennas
provides poor diversity performance. This is due to a higher degree of correlation for a given
distance compared to horizontal separation. In other words, the vertical separation distance
required between two base site antennas is much larger than the horizontal separation required to
gain the same correlation coefficient of two received branches.
The preferred method of implementing diversity at a base site is horizontal diversity. While vertical
separation of receive antennas will provide a degree of non correlation, the performance of vertical
diversity is not considered as effective as horizontal diversity.
The following section discusses the various antenna sharing strategies that are currently available
with respect to the Nokia Siemens Networks CDMA BTS.
6.4.1 Multiple Frame Antenna Sharing with 800 MHz BTS Products
This section provides some of the multiple frame antenna sharing configurations for the Nokia
Siemens Networks BTS product lines at 800 MHz that are currently supported.
Each 800 MHz SC4812T frame is capable of supporting up to two IS-95A/B or IS-2000 1X six-
D D
Tx Rx-m Rx-div Tx
Rx Exp.
SC4812T
SC4812T Exp. Frame
There are three versions of the SC4812T frame, a starter frame, an expansion frame, and a modem
frame. The general differences between the three different versions are as follows. A starter frame
is a standard stand-alone BTS frame which is designed to amplify the Rx & Tx signals while
connected directly to the antenna feed line jumpers. An expansion frame shares the Rx signals from
a starter frame and thus it is designed with a lower Rx gain in the front end, since the starter frame
provides the first stage of amplification. The Tx signals of an expansion frame are independent
from that of the starter frame and are typically connected to their own antenna (unless some sort of
external combining technique is used). An SC4812T modem frame shares the Rx signals from
another frame as well as providing a low level Tx output signal which requires further
amplification from yet another frame.
For expansion kit ordering information refer to the latest version of the equipment planning guide
or contact the Product Management group for more information.
Other frames have similar methods of sharing antennas. The following table shows which types of
4812T-Lite 4812T-Lite
4812ET-Lite 4812ET-Lite
SC480 SC480
SC2440 SC2440
SC4840 SC4840
SC7224 none
M810 none
Two UBS Macro 800 MHz frames that each use only a single trunk group (XMI modules all co-
herently combined) can be configured to share receive antenna signals as shown in Figure 6-6.
Each frame provides a single Tx/Rx path to one antenna for each sector. The Rx Expansion path
from each frame is connected through attenuators to the Diversity Rx input of the other frame. This
configuration can provide up to 16 carriers at 800 MHz per site. Each frame has its own BTS ID.
EXP RX 6A
EXP RX 6A
EXP RX 4A
EXP RX 5A
EXP RX 4A
EXP RX 5A
30010145001 30010145001
ANT 2A
ANT 3A
ANT 1B
ANT 2B
ANT 3B
ANT 1A
ANT 2A
ANT 3A
ANT 1B
ANT 2B
ANT 3B
ANT 1A
Jumper Jumper
Cables Cables
15 dB 15 dB
IDRF**
IDRF**
IDRF**
IDRF**
IDRF**
IDRF**
IDRF**
IDRF**
IDRF**
IDRF**
IDRF**
IDRF**
Attenuators Attenuators
@ 800 MHz @ 800 MHz
SGLN6426 SGLN6426
RX Expanin RX Expansion
Cable Cable
XMI
XMI
XMI
XMI
XMI
XMI
XMI
XMI
RX Splitter RX Splitter
EXPANSION / EXPANSION /
3RD PARTY port 3RD PARTY port
UBS Frame #1 UBS Frame #2
**All IDRFs in both frames must have the same part number, thus requiring that all CDMA
carriers in both frames must fall within the IDRF passband.
The gain provided by the other BTS will cause the default RSSI value reported for the Diversity
branch to be higher than that of the main branch for the same input signal level. Although this does
not impact BTS operation, if the operator desires to correct the RSSI values, Rx path calibration
should be performed on both BTSs using winLMF.
The Rx Expansion path in this configuration is provided after the LNA of the receive path which
is provided by XMI 1 of the respective BTS. Power cycling or resetting XMI 1 will cause the LNA
signal to the Expansion Rx path to be disabled, which in turn may impact the Reverse Noise Rise
(RNR) reported by the 1x sector-carriers on the other BTS due to the nominal gain of the Rx Ex-
EV-DO sector-carrier operation is not affected by the resetting or power cycling of XMI 1, as the
EV-DO carrier monitors the RSSI value during a periodic "quiet time" interval that is part of the
reverse link signal processing.
800 MHz UBS Macro frames configured with two trunk groups and 1.9 GHz UBS Macro frame
configurations require two Tx/Rx antennas per sector, so there is no advantage to antenna sharing
unless external equipment is provided to combine Tx antenna paths. Customers should consult
with BTS RF engineering if such configurations are desired.
6.4.2 Multiple Carrier Cavity Combining With 1900 MHz BTS Products
Combining is considered desirable by PCS operators in order to support multiple carriers at cell
sites with a minimum number of antennas. It is important to remember that the function of
combining will inherently add loss to the forward link. The following section will therefore provide
the system engineer with general guidelines on how combining is implemented within the Nokia
Siemens Networks BTS architecture (at 1900 MHz).
The SC4812T will provide 22.4 Watts “top of cabinet” output power assuming that the RF power
delivered to each sector is equal. For PCS applications, Link Budget analysis shows that a pilot
power of 2.4 Watts is needed to balance the forward with the reverse link. Nokia Siemens
Networks assumes a nominal 8.3 Maximum Power to Pilot ratio for a fully loaded carrier. This
means that 20 Watts is sufficient to balance the uplink and downlink paths. The combining is
internal to the frame and is accounted for in the 22.4 Watts "top of cabinet" power. This leaves 0.5
dB of loss for the duplexer. Note that 22.4 Watts “top of cabinet” does not include the 0.5 dB loss
of the duplexer, which is external to the cabinet.
Nokia Siemens Networks will provide multiple pole cavity filter combiners, utilizing conventional
phased transmission line combining techniques, which are self contained within a “cast” housing.
A maximum of 4 branch combining will be supported allowing up to a maximum of 4 alternate
carrier channels to be combined per antenna/per sector (with duplexers).
The following table lists the band designators of the various cavity combiners. Not all of the
combiner combinations are orderable. (The ordering guide has a list of combiner combinations.)
3. In C24, H is also used for any new designator range. H Block is defined for future usage. Cannot be supported on current UBS
The SC4812T will support a maximum of 12 sector-carriers per site (i.e. 3 sectors with 4 RF
carrier, or 6 sectors with 2 RF carriers). The 22.4 Watts at the "top of the cabinet" for SC4812T
The SC300 1X supports one carrier per FRU. Up to four carriers can be supported by
interconnecting four FRUs. Each FRU supports 10 Watts per carrier RF output power.
The following figures provide a high level outline of the combining required to support two and
eight carriers with the SC4812T (note that a only a single sector is shown as all 3 sectors are
identical).
Assuming that the maximum number of antennas allowed at a cell site is 6 (2 per sector), Figure 6-
7 shows that combining is not required for a two adjacent carrier configuration. If 6 duplexers are
utilized, each antenna within each sector can be duplexed to either carrier 1 or carrier 2. This
configuration will allow for balanced receive paths (i.e. no need for pads) and will allow for
sufficient power (20 Watts) to balance the uplink. Provided that both carriers are duplexed in every
sector, only 6 antennas will be required for a 3 sector site.
Antenna 1 Antenna 2
(Sector 1) (Sector 1)
Duplexers
Rx-m Rx-div
Tx1 Tx2
Alternatively, the SC4812T frame may include either 2:1 or 4:1 Tx cavity combiners. Adjacent RF
carriers cannot be combined using cavity combiners. Alternate adjacent carriers can be combined
with the cavity combiners. In the single frame 3-sector 6 antenna case, only 1 duplexer per sector
is needed for the 2 carrier non-adjacent channel case. This configuration will also allow for
balanced receive paths (i.e. no need for pads) and will allow for sufficient power (at least 20 Watts)
to balance the uplink.
Figure 6-8 shows how the configuration of 8 carriers for the SC4812T may be combined onto 6
antennas. Note the following applies to SC4812T:
The configuration of 8 carriers will require (2) SC4812T cabinets. The cavity combiners are
An 8 carrier configuration is also possible with two SC4812T-MC frames. For the SC4812T-MC,
combining is before the PA. This means no cavity combiners are required and the alternate channel
restrictions are removed.
An SC7224 frame also uses pre-PA combining. There is just one Tx antenna connection per sector
for a single band SC7224. There are two antenna connections per sector for dual band SC7224 -
one per band.
UBS frames with coherent combiners will use a single Tx antenna per sector. UBS frames without
combiners will have a Tx antenna for each XMI. UBS frames with cavity combiners will combine
pairs of XMIs, so the number of Tx antennas per frame will be one for each pair of cavity combined
XMIs and one for each uncombined XMI per sector.
Duplexer Duplexer
To Rx A To Rx B
4 Branch
Cavity Combiners
6.4.3 Duplexing
Duplexing is one of the options that can be used to reduce the number of antennas required to
support a CDMA base station. The duplexer for the SC4812T, for example, is a standard, three-
port device, which allows for the combination of transmit and receive signals onto one antenna.
Path 1 Path 2
Path 3
Rx PORT Tx PORT
The duplexer does not incorporate a circulator. Therefore, port isolation is achieved through the
phasing and stop band attenuation of the two bandpass filters. The following table outlines the
frequency response characteristics for a 1900 MHz duplexer.
The duplexer 3rd order intermodulation (IM) products between the Tx port and Rx port, for two
(10) Watt carriers in the transmit band (1930 - 1990 MHz) will be below -100 dBm and the fifth
order (and higher) IM products will be below -120 dBm. Note: Duplexers that include G-block will
have somewhat different characteristics.
The duplexer is physically included within the SC4812ET/ET Lite (outdoor products) and the
SC300 1X cabinet, but is not located within the SC4812T (indoor) product. Please refer to the
current “B1” document for full equipment specifications.
Note that Nokia Siemens Networks offers pre-engineered RF kits as part of its equipment offering
for the SC4812T, these kits include items such as duplexers and directional couplers.
The use of duplexed antennas will allow the combination of transmit and receive signals onto a
single antenna via a duplexer. This solution may be considered desirable by a number of PCS
operators in order to reduce the total number of antennas required per site. The Nokia Siemens
The use of duplexers implies zero isolation at the antenna port between transmit and receive
carriers. Under these conditions any transmit IM spurs created by non-linearities, in active or
passive components, in the common path, might produce significant interferers if they fall within
the receive carrier band. Duplexers can be made to work, in some applications, under ideal
conditions; but any imperfections introduced by aging, lightning, thermal cycling, bi-metallic
interaction or other common stresses can reduce system performance to below acceptable levels.
With regard to duplexing at 1900 MHz, it is useful to look at the potential for Transmitter
Intermodulation (IM) in duplexer equipped installations and to compare it to some of the existing
cellular technology systems. The following table examines the operation of AMPS/GSM/CDMA
and outlines the minimum Transmitter IM order required to generate IM products in the Rx band
of each technology. The minimum is calculated since the power generated by IM tends to fall off
fairly quickly with increasing IM order. Therefore, the majority of interference is generated by the
lowest order products.
Note that the IM orders presented in the following table for 1900 MHz refer to a single PCS band
case, operation within multiple PCS bands at the same site may require further investigation.
Certain combinations of sector-carriers can produce 3rd and 5th order intermodulation products
that are within one of the receive bands, and so should be avoided. In general, 11th order frequency
separation is sufficient to maintain control of transmitter passive intermodulation in duplexed
systems if all equipment recommendations are followed.
Nokia Siemens Networks believes that duplexers are a viable solution for PCS systems due to the
fact that for many configurations only high order IM products will fall within the PCS band.
However, the following outlines some of the 1900 MHz sub-band combinations that could create
IM issues.
While there are no known issues in the Nokia Siemens Networks BTS products with receiver
desensitization due to transmit intermodulation, a BTS serving non-adjacent sub-bands should be
operated to avoid CDMA channel combinations where a 3rd order product of the transmitted
carriers falls in a receive channel. The IM products of concern would be generated between carriers
in widely separated sub-bands. Coupling between transmit antennas is the most likely path for the
intermodulation to occur within components of the dual trunk group BTS. A minimum Tx to Tx
For 3rd order IM the transmit carriers to avoid are around 40 MHz apart, resulting in a product in
the receive channel 80 MHz below the higher transmit carrier. Transmit carriers can be around 40
MHz apart only in these combinations of frequency blocks: A with F, A with C and D with C. The
involved combinations of sub-bands and CDMA channels can be summarized for the dual
trunkgroup starter frame as follows:
• Intermodulation between block A and block F could degrade block F reception. CDMA
channels 25 to 95 in A-block (in sub-blocks A-2 & A-3) IM with F-block.
• Intermodulation between block C and block D could degrade block C reception. CDMA
channels 1105 to 1175 in C-block (sub-blocks C-1 & C-5) IM with D-block.
• Intermodulation between block A and block C could degrade block C reception. CDMA
channels 105 to 275 in block A IM with channels 925 to 1095 in block C.
• Intermodulation between block G and block B could degrade block G reception. CDMA
channels 1205 to 1275 in G-block IM with B-block.
Table 6-9 below shows the block and sub-block pairs that contain one or more IM channel combi-
nation. Most of the pairs are between A-block and C-block, 15 MHz wide sub-bands that is less
likely to be encountered together in the field. There are a number of usable specific channel com-
binations within the identified IM sub-block pairs and expansion frames are a special case, so the
actual channel combinations should be examined as outlined below.
Table 6-9: Frequency Block Pairs with Mobile channel Intermodulation products
F-block C-block G-block
Block / F C-1 C-2 C-3 C-4 C-5 G
sub-block
CDMA 825-875 1075- 925-1025 925-975 1025- 1125- 1225-
Ch. # 1175 1075 1175 1275
A-1 175-275 IM IM IM IM
A-2 25-125 IM IM IM
A-3 25-75 IM
A-4 125-175 IM IM
A-5 225-275 IM IM IM
D 325-375 IM IM
B-3 425-475 IM
Table 6-10: Unsupported Combinations of commonly used CDMA Channels provides another lay-
er of detail below the sub-block level. For a dual trunk group starter frame, it shows an adjacent
channel pair in Block-A or Block D, and the associated individual upper frequency CDMA chan-
nels of concern. Use of the carrier frequency combinations shown should be avoided if practical.
Unique site engineering should be applied to determine duplexer and other requirements if use of
If an expansion frame is used so that there are more than the two carriers in the lower frequency
sub-band, or CDMA channel assignments are other than the normal ones shown, the receive chan-
nels where third order IM products can fall in the upper receive sub-band are calculated as follows:
Lowest CDMA channel number affected = 780 plus the CDMA channel number of the lowest car-
rier in the lower sub-band.
Highest CDMA channel number affected = 820 plus the CDMA channel number of the highest car-
rier in the lower sub-band.
Table 6-10: Unsupported Combinations of commonly used 1.9 GHz CDMA Channels
Lower Sub-band Channel 1 Adjacent Ch 3 3rd Order IM Upper Sub-band
Designators CDMA Ch. # CDMA Ch. # CDMA Ch. #s Designators
Block Sub-blocks Sub-blocks Block
A A-2, A-3 25 50 825, 850 F
A A-2, A-3 50 75 850, 875 F
A A-2 75 100 875 F
A A-2 100 125 925 C-2, C-3 C
A A-4 125 150 925, 950 C-2, C-3 C
A A-4 150 175 950, 975 C-2, C-3 C
A A-1 175 200 975 C-2, C-3 C
1000 C-2 C
A A-1 200 225 1000 C-2 C
1025 C-2, C-4 C
A A-1, A-5 225 250 1025 C-2, C-4 C
1050 C-4 C
A A-1, A-5 250 275 1050 C-4 C
1075 C-1, C-4 C
D 325 350 1125, 1150 C-1, C-5 C
D 350 375 1150, 1175 C-1, C-5 C
B B-3 425 450 1225, 1250 G
B B-3 450 475 1250, 1275 G
The comments below are intended to show proper installation and component selection in systems
where duplexer use cannot be avoided.
All RF components in the cell site common receive/transmit path must be certified by the
equipment manufacturer for IM performance. A typical (derived from GSM) IM specification is
that all transmit IM products appearing in the receive band should be less than -110 dBm for two
input transmit carriers, at a power level of 25 Watts per carrier. In addition, a regularly scheduled
Preventative Maintenance Inspection (PMI) plan should be developed to verify that system IM
performance has not been degraded and to ensure component integrity. Typical requirements for a
PMI plan are described below.
Connectors - The connectors in the common transmit/receive path are the most likely cause of
system IM problems. System planning should attempt to minimize the number of connections in
this path in order to prevent IM problems from occurring. Connectors with good IM properties
have silver plating and mechanical rigidity. 7/16 type connectors have been optimized for IM
performance and should be used, if possible, in all paths with potential for IM problems. Assembly
and installation instructions should be provided by the manufacturer and should include torque
specifications. All connectors should be thoroughly cleaned, prior to installation, and
waterproofed, if exposed to outdoor elements. Care should be taken when mating and unmating
connectors to prevent contamination and to maintain plating integrity. Connectors should be
regularly inspected for damage and proper torque.
Antennas - Each antenna installed in a cell site should be tested and certified for IM performance.
This is due to the additional potential IM risk of contamination of the material used for the radiating
elements (no ferromagnetic materials). Proper care in installation should be used to prevent
antenna damage and to verify that there are no metallic objects in the radiation paths close enough
to reradiate back into the receiver (the “rusty bolt effect”). Mechanical stability should be provided
to protect from exposure and wind effects. Inspection and electrical verification should be made on
a regular basis, especially after a lightning strike or other unusual weather occurrence.
Antennas - Care should be taken in installation to maintain proper distances from any other
radiators or other obstruction on the same tower.
Cable Lashing - All cables should be prevented from movement. A major source of IM is the
movement of the cable at any connector. In addition, damage may result to the cable at a connector
from continued movement.
Cable Bends - Care should be taken to prevent any excessive bends in cabling. Slack and service
loops should be provided in cable runs to prevent stress to cables.
Water Proofing - All external connectors should be waterproofed and regularly inspected for
hermeticism. External components should be installed to prevent internal water capture.
Components should be removed from any areas with potential standing water.
6.4.3.3.3 Maintenance
A Preventative Maintenance Inspection (PMI) plan should be developed and followed in order to
maintain the IM performance of a cell site. A PMI should include a complete visual inspection of
the cell site for obvious component damage or misapplication and an RF two tone test to verify
system performance is satisfactory. Figure 6-10 is a diagram of the two tone test setup and is shown
below.
The low noise amplifiers combined with the spectrum analyzer in the above diagram should be
sensitive enough to measure IM products at -120 dBm or lower. The frequencies of the CW tones
should be such that the spurious product of interest should fall within the passband of the receive
path. All measured IM products should be below -116 dBm (for 0.5 dB typical sensitivity
degradation).
If any anomalies are observed, a sweep of the transmit path using a Time Domain Reflectometer
(TDR) or equivalent should be performed. A TDR will identify the existence and location of
significant RF discontinuity in the signal path.
Monitoring cell site received signal strength indicator statistics for consistent foreign carriers is
also a good indication of IM problems and should be part of a PMI plan. Monitoring the receiver
port in the cell site with a spectrum analyzer for foreign carriers should also be performed. The port
should be monitored with the transmit carriers keyed and unkeyed to verify whether interference
is internally or externally generated.
JAN 2013
FERROCOM
(Mod. No. 5809866C01)
CIRCULATORS MACOM
w/50 ohm loads (Mod. No.
CPA-120-CBA)
A/B AMPS. NARDA
HP8657B
6 RF Antenna Systems
CDPD
SIG GEN DUPLEXER
ANT. Rx.
Tx.
HP6653A
HP8657B POWER
SIG GEN SUPPLY
(27V,10A)
(27V)
ANT. Tx. ANT. Tx.
CDMA/CDMA2000 1X RF Planning Guide
MINICIRCUITS
(Mod.No. 15542) Rx. Rx.
0 deg.
COMBINER
The shaded region represents the system under test 3 dB 2140 OUT IN
which will be replaced with the customer's duplexer pad LNA
and antenna system. (Care should be taken to ensure
the amplifiers do not go unterminated.)
Note:
Equipment part numbers are for reference only and are not
intended as a recommendation to purchase a particular manufacturer's
equipment. Equivalent, more compact, less expensive and newer items may be available.
6
6 - 31
CDMA/CDMA2000 1X RF Planning Guide
6 RF Antenna Systems
6
6.5 CDMA Antenna Sharing With Other Technologies
The following section discusses topics associated with the sharing of antennas which is sometimes
required to support both CDMA and AMPS technologies in the 800 MHz spectrum. Various
methodologies for implementing co-located AMPS and CDMA cell sites are provided. Issues of
mutual system interference and cell site equipment sharing are considered. Where appropriate, this
discussion could be extended to include other antenna sharing configurations, provided that
minimum isolation requirements are met.
While Nokia Siemens Networks recommends that CDMA implementations not share equipment
with existing AMPS systems, it is understood that zoning restrictions and other hard realities might
make the sharing of some equipment a virtual requirement from the customer's point of view. The
guidelines below are intended to assure the most efficient implementation of the CDMA system
while minimizing the risk to operation of the host AMPS system.
For this version of the CDMA RF Planning Guide it is assumed that the CDMA antennas will be
co-located with existing AMPS antennas and will be sharing the same tower or roof top location.
For sites where the AMPS and CDMA systems are both omni-directional, it is assumed that the
receive antennas will be shared between the two systems. Nokia Siemens Networks recommends
that a separate transmit antenna be installed for the CDMA system to simplify the system design.
Nokia Siemens Networks does not generally recommend the use of duplexers to allow the AMPS
and CDMA systems to share common antennas. Please refer to Section 6.4.3 and Section 6.5.2 for
more details on the subject of duplexed antennas.
For sites where the AMPS and CDMA systems will both be sectorized, Nokia Siemens Networks
recommends that whenever possible the CDMA system should have separate antennas from the
AMPS system. In fact, there are several CDMA system requirements which can only be satisfied
by the use of separate CDMA and AMPS antenna systems. For example, the coverages of the
AMPS and CDMA systems at the site require different downtilt angles for their respective
antennas, or the CDMA softer handoff considerations require a narrower horizontal beamwidth for
the CDMA sector antennas than for the AMPS sector antennas. Refer to the tower specifications
to balance the weight to height ratio (tower loading).
It should be understood that in order to even allow for the possibility of sharing, the antenna will
need to be able to operate in both of the frequency bands to be shared. For instance, an antenna that
operates in the AMPS frequency band would not be acceptable to also share carriers assigned for
the PCS band. Another instance to consider is if the antennas are only specified for operation in the
transmit or receive portion of the band. An antenna of this type would not be acceptable to support
both transmit and receive bands.
Sharing equipment virtually always implies sharing antennas. Three likely conditions for antenna
sharing might exist:
In all cases where equipment is shared between a CDMA BTS and an analog BTS, a site-by-site
evaluation of the changes to basic parameters (receive noise figure, receive input intercept point -
IPi, receive sensitivity, transmit maximum power, transmit IM spur potential of the site, etc.) is
required (in most cases).
Ring Combiners
Combining of CDMA transmit signals with AMPS signals using ring combiners is not
recommended. The constraints on the passband amplitude and phase characteristics for the wide
bandwidth CDMA signal, and the narrow transition region between the CDMA carrier and the
AMPS carriers, results in a filter design that would be undesirable because of high insertion loss.
Such a filter would have to be tuned for a specific frequency plan, and would change as additional
CDMA carriers are added. A wideband hybrid combiner (3 dB) would be smaller and less
expensive, while still lossy.
It is possible to construct a unique AMPS cell site configuration using panel antennas with passive
Tx splitters and Rx combiners to achieve a pseudo-omni pattern using an omni configuration BTS.
While such a configuration would function for CDMA, the risk of performance degradation is
significant. The deliberate creation of a deeply faded field in the antenna overlap areas, without the
benefit of softer handoff, is likely to require increased average power per subscriber. The delay
spread between these simulcast signals from each antenna can be less than 1 chip time. Forward
and reverse power control operation in this situation would be more highly taxed. How much
degradation occurs would depend on the amount of multipath present. This configuration is not
recommended.
There are two basic approaches to sharing receive antennas: 1) use an output of a non-CDMA
multicoupler to feed a CDMA frame and 2) use the expansion frame outputs from a CDMA frame
to feed the analog receiver. In either case, it will be necessary to do a system engineering analysis
The use of duplexers implies zero isolation between a family of transmit carriers and a family of
receive carriers. Under these conditions, any transmit IM spurs created by non-linearities, in active
or passive components, in the common path might produce significant interferers in the receive
band. Duplexers can be made to work in some applications under ideal conditions; but any
imperfections introduced by aging, lightning, thermal cycling, bi-metallic interaction or other
common stresses can reduce system performance to below acceptable levels.
Nokia Siemens Networks does not recommend the use of duplexers for AMPS/CDMA systems at
800 MHz; however, certain situations may require their use. Intermodulation products introduced
by the duplexed antenna system may degrade either the CDMA or the analog system depending
upon the duplexing scheme implemented. For further clarification, refer to Figure 6-11 and the
accompanying text.
Duplexing a 800 MHz CDMA system has been broken down into three options. These are the only
options that are considered to be acceptable at this time. Any duplexing configurations that are
different from what is shown below would require evaluation of its acceptability. The following
table and figure illustrate three possible configurations where duplexers could be used with CDMA
and AMPS carriers and the acceptability of each:
Rx Rx Rx
CDMA CDMA CDMA
Tx Tx & Tx
& &
AMPS AMPS AMPS
Rx Rx Rx
CDMA AMPS CDMA
Tx Voice or SIG & AMPS SIG
Option 1: Duplexing One CDMA Transmit Carrier with CDMA and/or AMPS Receive.
This is the recommended implementation. Duplexing multiple CDMA transmit carriers with
CDMA and/or AMPS receive may be acceptable if the proper IM prevention site engineering,
frequency planning, and maintenance techniques are employed.
Option 2: Duplexing AMPS Voice or One AMPS SIG Channel (control channel) with
CDMA and/or AMPS Receive.
This is an acceptable configuration. Duplexing multiple AMPS voice transmit carriers with CDMA
and/or AMPS receive may be acceptable with proper IM prevention site engineering, frequency
planning, and maintenance techniques. This is the least desired option due to the complexity of
implementing and maintaining the proper IM frequency planning techniques for the multiple
AMPS carriers. Duplexing multiple AMPS voice and SIG carriers with CDMA and/or AMPS
receive is not acceptable.
Option 3: Duplexing One or Multiple CDMA and AMPS SIG Carriers with CDMA and/
or AMPS Receive
This may be an acceptable configuration if the proper IM prevention site engineering, frequency
planning, and maintenance techniques are employed. Duplexing one or multiple CDMA and
multiple AMPS voice carriers with CDMA and/or AMPS receive is not acceptable.
The only inherently acceptable application of a duplexed CDMA system is to duplex the Tx of one
CDMA carrier or one AMPS SIG carrier with the Rx of CDMA and/or AMPS. This is always
acceptable because there is no transmitter generated receive band IM for one carrier.
Configurations that are inherently not acceptable are multiple AMPS carriers, including signalling
channels, combined with CDMA carriers. These configurations are considered unacceptable
because there is a potential problem of in-band intermodulation generation with difficult spurious
frequency location prediction. The IM frequency planning mentioned above refers to planning the
transmit frequencies into the duplexer such that high energy, low order IM products, do not
Combined analog and CDMA systems, that are considered conditionally acceptable, require site
engineering and preventative maintenance in order to provide acceptable system performance.
Some of the guidelines for site engineering and preventative maintenance are presented in
Section 6.4.3.3.
To complement the existing internal and external grounding system (Please Reference:
"Motorola’s Grounding Guideline for Cellular Radio Installations" - 68P81150E62), all
transmission cables entering the cell site must be protected by devices such as "grounding kits" and
tube or MOV protectors, commonly called "Surge or Lightning Protectors". Surge protectors are
required in order to dissipate surge energy that can be generated from a local lightning strikes or
other energy sources on the transmission lines.
A single surge protection unit is required (in addition to sufficient grounding equipment) for every
transmission cable entering the site (Tx/Rx/GPS). The following description outlines the Nokia
The Huber and Suhner 3400 Series protector consists of a coaxial transmission line and an
optimized 1/4-wave shorting stub which is located between the center conductor and outer
conductor. These protectors are designed as coaxial feedthroughs. A V-groove washer made of soft
copper ensures that a low contact resistance between protector body and the mounting wall is
achieved.
The standard type of transmission line used for antenna systems is coaxial cable. There are a
number of factors that must be considered in the choice of coaxial cable both in terms of RF
performance and physical application.
For RF performance, the most important parameters in the choice of coaxial cable include,
attenuation loss for a given frequency/ambient temperature, the VSWR (Voltage Standing Wave
Ratio), return loss, power rating and insulation properties of the cable.
The loss of a coaxial cable will vary with frequency. Generally, the higher the frequency, the
greater the loss for a fixed distance. Transmission line losses are incorporated into link budget
calculations to determine the total loss of a RF transmission path. As this "path loss" will impact
cell radius, the loss associated with the transmission cable should be kept to a minimum. Different
types of coaxial cable are available and those with superior electrical properties (lower loss) are
normally both larger (thickness) and more expensive (per meter).
The VSWR rating of a cable is the additional load allowed due to the mismatch of impedance. The
system engineer should ensure that a cable with a VSWR rating between 1.01:1 and 1.15:1 is
ordered. A cable which allows higher VSWR and hence load (due to reflected power) will increase
the attenuation of the transmission line. Note that a VSWR of 1.15:1 equates to 23 dB return loss.
The return loss of a cable can be directly related to the VSWR rating. The return loss of a
transmission cable can be considered as the difference in power in the forward and reverse
directions when measured into a well matched load. All other things being equal, the higher the
return loss the better the cable. The system engineer should choose a transmission cable with a
return loss of 23 dB or better.
Please refer to the antenna parameter Section 6.2.5 for an explanation on how to convert VSWR to
return loss.
The peak power rating of a coaxial cable refers to the maximum amount of power that can be safely
sent over the coax. The power rating is determined by the type of insulation material and the
structure between the inner and outer conductors of the cable (dielectric).
The physical characteristics of coaxial cable should not be overlooked in the choice of transmission
line. Although from a system perspective, the goal may be to limit loss, site specific installation
criteria may limit the type of coaxial cable that can be used. The system engineer should consider;
the cable length required, minimum bending radius allowed, the weight of multiple cables, the
effects of wind loading, the ability to correctly mount/ground the cables and the cost of installation
and expansion.
Generally, thicker cables allow less loss over a given distance but require more substantial
hardware for mounting and grounding. The system engineer should plan for an achievable
transmission line loss during initial system planning, bearing in mind both the optimum cable
performance and the physical limitations of the cell site. During preliminary planning, it is
recommended that the system engineer plans for approximately 2-3 dB total transmission line loss
(including transition cables).
The recommended type of transmission line in terms of performance versus cost, is foam dielectric
coaxial cable. The dielectric material used is a closed-cell, low density polyethylene foam which
prevents water penetration and allows for repeated bending. A solid corrugated outer conductor
results in low loss, high power handling and continuous RF/EMI shielding. The combination of
both a solid inner and outer conductor minimizes the potential for intermodulation generation. The
following table gives an example of typical foam dielectric cables and their respective attenuation
per 100 ft. at an operating frequency of 1850 MHz. At lower operating frequencies the attenuation
values would be lower.
While the system engineer is considering the transmission line loss within the link budget, the loss
of transition cables or “Jumpers” that may be required both at the antenna and equipment hardware
also need to be included. These jumpers will generally be required due to the physical limitations
of low loss thicker cable (i.e. the bending radius). The length of these jumper cables should be kept
to within a few meters and the associated loss of both the cable and connectors should be
calculated. The following table outlines a typical jumper cable type, Andrews 1/2" Superflex
operating at 1850 MHz. Different characteristics would result if the operating frequency was
changed.
The RFDS/CRMS connects to the RF paths of the cell site via pre-installed directional couplers
(see above) and the RFDS/CRMS itself is comprised of the following equipment:
• Directional Couplers
• Controller Card
• A Test Subscriber Unit
• Up to 2 Antenna Selector Units
The RFDS/CRMS measurement unit consists of directional couplers which sense and couple test
signals to and from the RF system, an RF switch that connects "test equipment" to the RF path
under test and a controller which is used to setup/execute tests. Access points are provided to allow
external measuring instruments to be connected, this means that tests not performed by the RFDS/
CRMS may be conducted. Examples are transmitter frequency, in-band transmit spurious output,
transmit occupied bandwidth and adjacent channel leakage.
The RFDS/CRMS can improve system performance by providing a quick and efficient method of
detecting faults and it will provide the operator with the earliest notification of degraded equipment
performance.
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7 7 RF Antenna Systems -
Advanced Topics
Table of Contents
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It is the goal of this section to present the fundamental concepts associated with dual polarized
antennas, discuss any potential performance impacts and provide guidelines that can be used to
assist the system engineer in deciding which dual polarization antenna design is optimum, if any,
for a particular CDMA application. The performance impacts provided in this section were made
from general observations taken from several different industry and Nokia Siemens Networks
studies that were found on this subject.
In order to be able to make an educated decision as to which base station antenna polarization
scheme to use (single vs. dual, horizontal/vertical vs. slant 45°, etc.), it is important to understand
the various fundamental concepts associated with polarization diversity. Some key concepts are
discussed below.
Conventional cellular and PCS antennas are typically 1/2 wavelength dipoles designed for vertical
(usually) or horizontal polarization. Recall that a dipole produces a linearly polarized signal. The
polarization itself is achieved by the specific placement of the elements within the antenna stack.
If the alignment produces an E vector (electric field vector) which is vertical with respect to the
earth, the antenna is considered vertically polarized. In contrast, if the alignment produces an E
vector which is horizontal with respect to the earth, the antenna is considered horizontally
polarized.
In a dual polarized antenna, the elements within the antenna housing are alternately placed. As
depicted in Figure 7-1, some antenna models alternate the polarization from horizontal to vertical,
others set the elements such that the polarization is crossed at 45° (sometimes referred to as slant
polarization).
V1 V2 V1
V2 X X
PCS and cellular dual polarized antennas are orthogonally polarized (horizontal/vertical or slant
45°). As will be discussed in more detail below, the antenna isolation and antenna cross
polarization suppression (antenna coupling effects) need to be considered. Orthogonally polarized
antennas have their polarizations ideally isolated and the cross polarization suppression is most
distant.
Much like a singularly polarized antenna, a dual polarized antenna is capable of handling multiple
frequencies. If so desired, a duplexer can be used with the dual polarized antenna to combine
transmit and receive signals onto one set of elements, although there are issues associated with this
configuration, as discussed in Section 7.1.2 and Section 7.1.5.
7.1.1.2 Diversity
In communication systems, diversity is used to increase the probability of receiving a given signal
(message), which improves the ability of interpreting that signal (message). ‘Distinct parts’ are
needed so that if one ‘part’ alone fails to deliver the message, perhaps a second ‘part’ will succeed.
However, diversity is not simply a backup. Diversity is used to increase the probability of
receiving a good signal, whether two signal components are combined or the stronger of the two
signal components is selected. The use of the phrase ‘signal components’ here is meant to
emphasize that one message or signal is transmitted, then split into separate components by various
means (such as reflection, refraction, scattering, etc.). The components of the message are then
used individually, or combined, to recompose the original message.
Examples of diversity being utilized in CDMA can be seen throughout the infrastructure. The
following is a brief list, differentiated by the type of diversity that is offered.
Spacial and polarization diversity are techniques used in what is commonly referred to as ‘antenna
diversity’. This section focuses on base station receiver antenna diversity, specifically that which
can be provided by dual polarization. Antenna diversity is approached with the hope that if one
radio path experiences deep fading, then a second independent path may have a signal with a
reasonable probability of not being in a fade at the same time.
Presently, commercial CDMA systems typically use two antennas at the base station for diversity
on the reverse link (subscriber to base station signals). As was mentioned in Chapter 6, the two
antennas are separated (normally a horizontal separation) by at least 10 wavelengths at 800 MHz
and at least 20 wavelengths at 1800 MHz. In this situation, the engineer assumes the signal
components into each antenna will have a polarization identical to the receive polarization1.
However, if a transmitted signal scatters, and one of the scatter components undergoes additional
scattering, eventually some signal components may change polarization. Polarization diversity
could then take advantage of this change. A system engineer could use a diversity antenna which
has a polarization which is unique as compared to the primary antenna. A dual polarized antenna
is, in fact, two antennas in a single housing with one antenna polarized orthogonal to the second.
Diversity gain measures the improvement in signal reception due to the utilization of a diversity
path. It is the difference in signal level between one reference signal and the signal received at the
output of the diversity combiner for a given probability or signal reliability. Signal reliability is the
probability that the signal is adequate for a given period of time under the conditions encountered
(usually measured between a 90% and 99% level)2.
Diversity gain can be measured as improvement in the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) or Eb/No in
CDMA. It is not a difference in SNRs, but rather a comparison between the final received SNR and
what that SNR would have been without diversity. In real-world conditions, it may be difficult to
measure the SNR, so measurements are typically taken of the signal plus the noise.
When a system engineer chooses to use antenna diversity, the type of diversity selected is based on
1. In CDMA, the base station transmit and receive antennas normally utilize linear vertical polarization.
2. Wahlberg, Ulrik. 1997. “Polarization Diversity for Cellular Base Stations at 1800 MHz.” Revision 1.0.
Allgon.
Diversity gain is affected directly by the correlation of the signal envelopes, branch imbalance and
also by the combining technique4. The greatest gain is achieved when two uncorrelated signals are
received with equivalent energy (balanced branches) and combined.
Two branches (of a dual polarized or spacial diversity antenna system) can be individually selected
or combined to improve the single branch performance. In a two branch selection diversity system,
it has been found that the potential savings in power offered is equal to approximately 10 dB (at
99% reliability, see Figure 7-2) as compared to a single branch. In a two branch combining
diversity system, the power savings (at 99% reliability) is equal to approximately 11.5 dB as
compared to a single branch, or a 1.5 dB improvement over selection diversity5. In CDMA, the
combining diversity method is used.
4. There are four general methods used in selecting or combining signals in a diversity system:
- Selection Diversity
- Maximum-Ratio Combining (a.k.a. Maximal Ratio Combining)
- Equal-Gain Combining
- Switched Combining
5. Jakes, William C. 1974. “Microwave Mobile Communications.” New York. American Telephone and
Telegraph Company. Reissued in Cooperation with IEEE Communications Society. pp. 309-324.
Probability Distribution
SNR γs for M-Branch
Selection Diversity System.
Γ=SNR on one Branch.
10 dB
7.1.1.4 Cross-Correlation
Cross-correlation is used to measure the correlation between two signal envelopes. In general, the
literature shows that diversity gain is best realized when the signal envelope cross-correlation
coefficient is under 0.7. If the signal envelope cross-correlation coefficient, on the other hand, is
equal to 1.0, then the system is identical to a system without diversity. This is a key concept to
remember. For CDMA systems utilizing spacial diversity, (at 1800 MHz) 10 wavelengths
separation is used between the main Rx and the spacial diversity Rx antennas. This separation is
necessary to achieve a signal envelope cross-correlation coefficient of less than or equal to 0.7.
(Note: the separation required to achieve a cross-correlation coefficient of less than 0.7 varies with
antenna height, surrounding clutter, and typical angle of arrival. See IEEE reference paper at:
http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/iel5/7043/18961/00877962.pdf for more details.
Small scale fading (or fast fading) is that which creates deep and rapid amplitude fluctuations.
These deep fades are created by summing multiple signals, with random phases and amplitudes, in
a highly reflective environment. Normally, fast fading implies a Rayleigh fading distribution.
The Rayleigh probability density function (pdf) is shown in Figure 7-3. If statistically independent
samples are considered, the reception of a weak signal from a Rayleigh pdf infers that the
probability of receiving a stronger signal (shaded area) with the next sample is quite good.
Figure 7-3: Rayleigh Probability Density Function
Probability of Receiving
a Stronger Signal
Weak Rx
Signal
Large scale fading (slow fading) is used to describe fading which occurs over long distances
(several hundred or even thousands of meters apart). Large scale fading is normally due to
shadowing in both the terrain profile and the nature of the surroundings. This type of fading is log-
normally distributed and in urban environments has a standard deviation of approximately 10 dB.
While signals normally undergo large scale fading, it is in the small scale fading environments
where signal components are found to be uncorrelated, and therefore diversity combining makes a
significant impact.
The following examples show the difference in diversity gain if two correlated signals are received
as opposed to two uncorrelated signals.
7.1.1.4.1 Reception of Highly Correlated Signals and Their Effect on Diversity Gain
Consider a system with a spatially diversified pair of antennas, each of which is vertically
polarized. If a subscriber transmits a signal in an unobstructed environment (line-of sight) towards
the antenna pair, then the signal undergoes free-space path loss (assuming no reflection) and is
received, highly correlated, at each antenna branch (see Figure 7-4).
If the system used a selection method, the gain achieved by utilizing diversity is zero since the
branches have identical received signals.
If the system combines the identical received signal energy using a maximum ratio combining
method, then the maximum gain achieved is 3 dB (i.e. doubling the power of a single branch). The
gain achieved will never exceed 3 dB for correlated signals. This also applies to equal gain
combining.
Diversity gain is at its highest value when the signals received at the spatially separated Rx
antennas are uncorrelated. In this case, the received signals have different amounts of fading (see
Figure 7-5). If the system uses selection or sampling methods, then the signal with the greatest
SNR (lowest FER) is chosen. For example, assume the signal energy in branch A is four times as
strong as that of branch B. In this example, diversity provides a 6 dB gain over a system without
the diversity antenna. Although in this example the mean signal levels of each branch are not
balanced, it is important to know that diversity gain is greatest when the mean signal levels of the
two branches are balanced.
If the system receives uncorrelated signals using a combining method, the maximum gain achieved
can vary significantly.
A B
Original Signal
Faded Received Signal
Uncorrelated at Each Branch
To emphasize the importance of uncorrelated signals, assume the minimum receive level required
is set at Level RCV as shown in Figure 7-6. If the signals are correlated and a diversity combining
method is assumed, then the greatest improvement would be a 3 dB signal gain. If the original
signal was received below the minimum requirements, it is possible that the improvement due to
diversity combining may not be sufficient to provide a minimum number of good frames. In this
case, the frame erasure rate (FER), or SNR would be poor.6
{
{
In Figure 7-7, two uncorrelated signals are combined. In this example, the system samples each
6. Here the assumption is that the signal portion doubles, but it is important to note that the noise also doubles.
Level RCV
(minimum)
As a subscriber travels in dense clutter, such as urban and suburban environments, its transmitted
signal is reflected and undergoes various degrees of fading. Sometimes the base station antenna is
line-of-sight with the subscriber and sometimes it is shadowed. It is in these fading conditions that
the benefit of the diversity gain is intended to capture enough energy to interpret the message (see
Figure 7-8).
Signal A
Minimum Required
Signal A’ Rx Signal Strength
As the subscriber travels, its transmitted signal is received with varying fades. If a signal is undergoing a deep fade, then
an uncorrelated signal can save the call (even if its mean energy level is weaker). Intuitively, when the signal is
in a fade, the slower the subscriber speed, the higher the probability of continued signal fading.
Note that antenna isolation is not dependent on the angles α and β, as shown in Figure 7-9.7
Figure 7-9: Theoretical Model for Base Station Polarization Diversity
Y Z
V2 V1 X
α
X Multipath
β
Main Beam
The orthogonality of a dual polarized antenna is specified by the antenna cross polarization
discrimination. This is the ratio of the outputs from the co-polarized and cross-polarized ports
when an antenna receives a signal from one plane (i.e. co-planar). As an example, if a horizontal/
vertical dual polarized antenna receives a signal which is vertically polarized, then the antenna is
considered to have good orthogonality if a very small portion of the signal is received at the
horizontal port. Likewise, a large portion of the signal should be received at the vertical port. Good
orthogonality has an antenna cross polarization discrimination value of about +20 dB (or greater).
Poor orthogonality can push the antenna cross polarization discrimination value down to 0 dB (or
less). Antenna cross polarization discrimination is generally required to be greater than +15 dB9.
[Note: The term antenna cross polarization discrimination (AXPD) differs from the term cross
7. Kozono, S. 1985. “Base Station Polarization Diversity Reception for Mobile Radio.” IEEE Transactions
on Vehicular Technology. Vol. VT-33. No. 4. pp. 301-306.
8. Wahlberg, Ulrik. 1997. "Polarization Diversity for Cellular Base Stations at 1800 MHz." Revision 1.0.
Allgon.
9. This number may vary per antenna manufacturer. Nokia Siemens Networks recommends a minimum 34
dB isolation requirement between the Tx and Rx branches, therefore if the separation is rated to be 15 dB, the
system engineer will need to insert a duplexer to ensure at least 34 dB separation.
Many studies on the performance of a polarization diversity system utilizing dual polarized
antennas have been performed throughout the industry. A consolidation of various findings is
provided below. For more detailed information, consult the provided references (see Section 7.3).
NOTE: Most of the studies observed were completed on systems other than CDMA. All studies
not done on CDMA systems focused on the signal envelope and therefore, focused on the signal
decorrelation and received signal strength.10 In a cellular CDMA system, power control will
directly effect the received signal strength, making it a nearly impossible task to measure any
change from one diversity scheme to another. It is precisely because of the power control issues in
CDMA that Motorola chose to study the received Eb/No requirements. Branch imbalance and
signal correlation were included in the study. Branch imbalance, rather than the signal correlation,
showed a greater impact to the quality of the diversity scheme (the greater the branch imbalance,
the smaller the diversity gain). It is unclear at this time as to the impact polarization diversity may
have on CDMA specific issues such as power control. The power control is both an open and
closed loop process which relies on measured signal strength and Eb/No (for correction). If the loop
becomes imbalanced, the impact on capacity or quality could be significant.
It has been shown11 that clutter type greatly effects the ability of the signal to change polarization
sufficiently enough to be received decorrelated at the base station antennas. The denser the clutter,
the higher the probability of receiving a decorrelated signal at each polarization. This finding was
consistent throughout the studies. However, there appeared to be a greater branch imbalance if
horizontal/vertical polarizations were used as opposed to slant 45° polarizations, and it follows that
due to the large branch imbalance, diversity gain degrades.
Several studies transmitted signals utilizing varying degrees of subscriber transmit antenna
inclination. Some studies tested performance at several different angles; however, only tests at 0°
and 45° subscriber inclinations were common in each study. Reviewing this aspect of the data, it
appeared that larger values in diversity gain were achieved when the subscriber was inclined at 45°.
For example, a study provided in Vaughan’s paper showed that a subscriber transmitting at 45° had
a 1.7 dB improvement in diversity gain over a subscriber transmitting at a 0° inclination. In this
study, a horizontal/vertical polarized base station antenna was used and the data was collected from
11. Vaughan, Rodney G. 1990. “Polarization Diversity in Mobile Communications.” IEEE Transactions on
Vehicular Technology. Vol. 39. No. 3. (August): 177-186.
It is important to note that in all of the studies, the improvement of using polarization diversity
versus spacial diversity NEVER exceeded a 1 dB improvement (base station received power). In
most cases, the polarization diversity performed worse than spacial diversity. Although the worst
case results showed a 2.7 dB degradation, the polarization diversity was normally within 1 dB of
the spacial diversity results (base station received power).
The Motorola lab study12 examined Rayleigh distributed signal envelopes. The test verified that
branch imbalance decreased diversity gain. The test also seemed to show that correlated signals
achieved greater gain than uncorrelated signals. This result seemed to counter the common finding
in diversity systems; however, the data was calculated using a combined-minus-maximum-
received-signal-strength equation and not the standard diversity gain equation. Diversity gain was
measured as the combined Eb/No into the system, less the maximum of the Eb/No received in either
branch. The maximum 3 dB gain achieved agrees with the maximum 3 dB gain of combining two
identical (correlated) signals (discussed in Section 7.1.1.4). The greatest input from the Motorola
studies was the observation that Eb/No and power control issues also needed to be addressed when
studying antenna diversity systems for CDMA technology.
Table 7-1 shows data Motorola collected in a field trial test in Israel13. It confirms that the branch
imbalance was a greater issue than the correlation. Remember, branch imbalance refers to the
amount of energy received at each branch, where correlation refers to the “sameness” of the signal
components received. This table goes on to show that the Eb/No requirement was larger for the dual
polarized antenna system (albeit very slightly), which also translates into a slight degradation of
performance. And finally, Motorola shows little change in diversity gain between the two diversity
12. Tobin, Joe, Rob Nikides, Devesh Patel, Edward Golovin. 1997. “CDMA Dual Pole Antenna Testing -
Arlington Heights, IL.” Version 1.0. Motorola.
13. Golovin, Edward. 1998. “A Comparison of CDMA Reverse Link Performance with Base Station Spatial
and Polarization Diversity Reception (Motorola Israel Measurement Campaign in Urban Area at 900 MHz)”
Version 2.0. Motorola.
Spacial Diversity
Diversity (two Polarization Scheme &
Parameters vertically Diversity (dual CDMA Reverse
(average over polarized polarized Link
all locations) antennas) antenna) Degradation
Branches Imbalance 1.15 dB 2.16 dB 1.01 dB
& XPD (median)
Cross Polarization 0.19 0.25 0.06
Correlation (XPC)
(median)
Mean Eb/No 8.22 dB 9.08 dB 0.86 dB
Measured Results
Diversity Gain 4.89 dB 4.68 dB 0.21 dB
(median)
The following sections provide additional information to consider before selecting a dual polarized
antenna.
The most obvious advantage with using a dual polarized antenna, is the elimination of a second
receive antenna unit (and possibly a third transmit antenna unit, if a duplexer or 3-port dual
polarized antenna is used). This saves on real estate and mounting hardware.
Due to the fact that elements are alternated, and the number of elements per pole are reduced,
antenna gain is typically decreased in a dual polarized antenna (or the length of the antenna is
increased to accommodate the extra elements). Therefore, improved diversity gain may be
achieved at the expense of antenna gain (for like-sized units). This may be an acceptable trade off,
if the diversity gain is sufficient and range is not an issue. Otherwise, the loss of signal due to
antenna gain may be intolerable. Therefore, dual polarized antennas should not be utilized to solve
range problems. If the longer unit is selected for improved gain, tower loading issues will need to
be readdressed.
Some manufacturers have solved the size, gain, and front-to-back ratio issues by layering the
antenna elements on top of one another. This keeps the antenna parameters consistent with
singularly polarized antennas.
Due to the fact that multiple antenna elements share the same antenna housing, dual polarized
If the antenna is experiencing problems, with only one antenna at a given site, there is no
opportunity to “hot swap” a line (i.e. no backup).
Dual polarized antennas, though seen as one antenna, will still require two separate transmission
lines (one for each polarization).
It is recommended that the system engineer consider three main polarization specifications when
choosing an antenna14:
• Isolation. For details on antenna isolation requirements, please refer to Section 7.1.2.
Currently, the effect of transmitting the base station signal from an antenna which is polarized 45°
from vertical needs further analysis. The emphasis on dual polarization antenna studies has been
on the receive signal only; however, Nokia Siemens Networks recognizes that in CDMA, the open
and closed loop power control are of key importance. Figure 7-10 provides various examples of
the transmitting techniques involved with the different diversity antenna configurations.
14. Xiang, Jun. 1996. “Diversity Antenna Systems for GSM900/GSM1800/PCS1900 Networks.” Issue A.
Motorola.
Rx (diversity) Rx (main)
(either branch) Rx (diversity)
Rx (diversity)
(either branch)
If a horizontal/vertical polarized antenna is employed, then the vertical polarization element can be
used for both transmit and receive, and the horizontal polarization element can be used for diversity
receive. However, if a slant 45° polarized antenna is used, then regardless of which polarization
element is chosen, the signal will be transmitted at 45° from the vertical.
In many cases, the maximum capacity is limited by the forward link. Therefore, any degradation
to the forward link will typically impact the performance (i.e. coverage, capacity, and quality) of
the entire site. An analysis of how large an impact to system performance is introduced by the
forward link transmission of a 45° polarized signal is needed. Some believe if the clutter is
sufficient to induce scattering such that the reverse link variance in polarization is adequate to
utilize a dual polarized diversity scheme, then the forward link should also be sufficient. This
assumption cannot be readily made without testing, since path fading characteristics are normally
determined by the near field clutter.
It has been shown that in given situations (see Section 7.1.3), slant 45° polarization diversity is
superior to horizontal/vertical polarization diversity (although neither is as good as spacial
diversity). In order to leverage the advantages of slant 45° polarization and also minimize the risks
of transmitting with a 45° polarization, an alternate solution is to use an antenna designed with
three separate polarizations. An example of this type of antenna is shown in Figure 7-10. With this
type of 3-port polarization antenna, one port is polarized at +45° from the vertical, a second port is
polarized at -45° from the vertical, and a third port is vertically polarized.
Other considerations include the size of the antenna unit and the gain. A 3-port polarization antenna
would be even longer than a 2-port slant 45° antenna.
Utilizing dual polarized antennas as a means of diversity may have an impact on the CDMA RF
link budget. The CDMA base station receiver sensitivity is comprised of several components, one
of which is the required Eb/No to meet a specified performance (FER). The benefit of diversity gain
is typically accounted for within the Eb/No value. Therefore, if a different diversity gain value is
For the downlink, should a provider choose to use a 2-port slant 45° dual polarized antenna, the
base station transmit antenna would radiate with a 45° polarization. As stated in Section 7.1.5,
further studies are needed which analyze the effect that transmit inclination at 45° could have on
the forward link, and (specifically from a CDMA perspective) how this may effect the Eb/No
performance.
When inputting the value for antenna gain, the system engineer should use the gain value given by
the antenna vendor.
Unfortunately, the majority of the case data analyzed for this document was derived from field
experiments and not from well controlled laboratory settings. Consequently, conclusions drawn
from this data should be treated with a degree of skepticism, knowing that the environment in
which each test was conducted and the test performed, may have had an impact on the result.
With the exception of the Motorola test cases, data was collected with continuous wave (CW)
testing. For a CDMA system, CW testing may not be sufficient. Due to the power control in
CDMA, Eb/No measurements are preferred. This makes data comparison between studies (CDMA
vs. CW) extremely difficult.
In the past, most of the subscriber unit antennas were mounted onto the vehicle and their
transmission was assumed to be vertically polarized. Today, most of the subscriber units are
handheld and are subjected to “hand-tilting”. With the introduction of non-vertically polarized
signals, polarization diversity is assumed to be a potential option to improve signal reception. In
fact, it has been found that the tilt of the subscriber has less to do with the effectiveness of the
diversity scheme than the environment in which the subscriber and base station are located.
It is understood that scattering is required to change the polarization. Thus, dense urban
environments lead to more scattering and a higher probability of creating decorrelated signals with
respect to polarization (as seen by the base station antenna system).
In the proper environment (dense urban), polarization diversity performed well. Surprisingly, it did
not perform as well as a spacial diversity scheme, but was normally within 1 dB. (The worst case
shown was 2.7 dB which was seen in a suburban environment.) Taking into consideration the
losses incurred in transmission lines, connectors, duplexers and combiners, the loss in diversity
gain may be offset dependent on the quality of the antenna system. Decisions would need to be
made as to whether or not an estimated 1 dB degradation would be acceptable.
Diversity gain could be offset in a CDMA system by a capacity degradation taken by utilizing a
dual polarized antenna. There are two main issues around which dual polarized antennas may
Although the findings show that a dual polarized antenna with a slant 45° configuration performs
better than a horizontal/vertical configuration, a significant concern lies in what may happen to the
forward link and power control by transmitting with a 45° polarization. The horizontal/vertical
polarization configuration would at least leave one variable constant as compared to the present
spacial diversity scheme (the base station transmit antenna would continue to be vertically,
linearly, polarized). However, to achieve the same level of decorrelation in branches would require
a more dense clutter environment, and even then, studies show that horizontal/vertical polarized
antennas tend to have a large branch imbalance with the vertical branch being most dominant.
Ideally the choice would be to use the 3-port antenna model presented earlier which uses three
polarizations (vertical and slant 45°). The cost and extra weight added (for identical antenna gain)
would need to be determined, and factored into the decision process.
Finally, the Motorola field tests found that the greatest factor to impact the diversity gain was
branch imbalance (more so than signal correlation). In measuring Eb/No requirements of a
polarization diversity system as compared to a spacial diversity system, it was found that there was
little change to the gain between the systems. The polarization diversity scheme showed a slight
(less than 1 dB) degradation in performance. This study was performed in an urban environment.
Whether or not to use polarization diversity is left to the system engineer. The recommendation is
to use this scheme if real estate is not available for spacial diversity, and the environment clutter
type is urban or dense urban. Isolation between ports needs to be strictly adhered to and Nokia
Siemens Networks recommends a minimum of 34 dB between Tx and Rx ports. It is unknown how
transmission at 45° may effect the forward link, and until further studies are performed, the system
engineer should be cautious in using this approach.
• Office Buildings
• Airports
• Hospitals
• Shopping Malls
• Hotels & Convention Centers
• Sports Arenas
• Colleges & Universities
Several methods of in-building coverage solutions exist including passive coax, active coax, fiber
optics, leaky feeder, Micro RF heads and hybrid combinations of these types. Each approach has
a unique set of attributes, which makes it most suited for a particular application.
The goal of in-building system design is to distribute the RF signal uniformly throughout all of the
areas to be covered. The system should be easy to install, inexpensive, unobtrusive, and highly
reliable. Distributing antennas within the building, using coaxial cable, fiber optics cable or Pico
RF heads, can meet these requirements. Figure 7-11 illustrates a typical coaxial cable design
approach.
The coaxial cable approach uses splitters, directional couplers, or taps to direct the RF signal to
various locations within the building.
Current fiber optic distribution systems employ a star architecture. In large buildings, the fiber runs
may be reduced by distributing the fiber control units as in Figure 7-12.
Ceiling
Fiber Base Unit
RF Base Station
Passive coaxial cable systems typically offer the most cost effective implementation solution for
small building applications. The term passive coax is used to describe a coaxial cable system that
does not have any active devices, such as in-line amplifiers. Coaxial cable systems that do employ
amplifiers are referred to as active coax systems. Because of their low cost, passive coax systems
should be used to distribute the RF signal whenever practical. The limitation of passive coax is that
the cable loss increases as the cable run length increases. Higher cable loss results in lower
downlink power and degrades the system uplink performance. For larger buildings, it may not be
possible to meet the coverage goals using only passive coax. For these larger applications fiber
optic distribution systems, active coaxial cable or Pico-Cell systems can be employed.
The following section (Section 7.2.2.1) provides a flow chart with the steps involved with
designing an in-building antenna system using a passive coaxial cable system design. The
remaining sections provide a brief description of the various steps provided in the flow chart.
The flow chart shown in Figure 7-13 describes a process that can be used for estimating the design
of an in-building RF distribution system.
Details on each of the flow chart steps are given in the following sections.
Select The
Antenna Types NO Meet Coverage
Requirements
YES
Choose The Base
Station Type Estimated Design
Is Complete
Before the design of the distributed antenna system can begin, some basic information about the
building, equipment locations and areas requiring coverage must be obtained. With this
information, the system planner can begin to construct the details of the design, such as the number
of antennas required throughout the building.
Phase I: Education
Nokia Siemens Networks recommends training be provided for as many key people as possible,
especially the individuals who will be participating in the installation, optimization and trial stages.
Clear specifications and requirements are a key to any project. In-building antenna systems are no
exception. Nokia Siemens Networks recommends extensive training and design sessions due to the
special requirements of in-building systems.
Building design information in the area of traffic requirements, coverage area, and building details
are needed.
Traffic requirements:
• The number of subscribers for the system (this will be necessary to size the final
equipment)
• The Average Holding time including Erlang studies of the call duration on the PBX or
landline
• Peak traffic periods during the day
• Desired Grade Of Service (GOS)
• The type of back-haul spans should also be determined (i.e. Microwave, T1 or E1, etc.)
Coverage Area:
Floor plans, including a scale, are required. The plan dimensions should be clearly legible and
should detail the layout of the floor. The height of each floor and clearance above the ceilings
should also be detailed. In consultation with the customer and using the floor plans, the number of
floors and areas within the building requiring coverage can be determined. This decision can be
made by examining the probability that a call will be made (or received) in a particular area.
Locations that can be expected to see activity, such as an office space or conference room, should
be adequately covered. Locations where call activity will be minimal, such as storage rooms and
mechanical sectors, may not need to be covered. There will be a trade-off when determining the
coverage requirement. As an example, a design for 90% area coverage may be significantly less
expensive than a design for 100% area coverage. The coverage goal should be established prior to
beginning the system design and implementation.
Building Details:
Details on the building construction will help with the system design. An arrangement to ensure
complete building access must be agreed upon with the customer. Table 7-2 provides examples of
building topology that should be discussed to give a more detailed description of the areas to be
covered:
A second marked-up copy of the floor plans can be used to illustrate and describe where these
materials or obstacles are located.
The vertical elevator shafts, stairwells, fire escapes and any vertical duct or passageway should be
illustrated on the plan or cross-sectional diagram. Any in-building parking facilities should also be
described.
Photographs and/or video would also be helpful for more complex implementations.
A brief review should be done to see if the size of the passageways will be sufficient to transfer the
equipment from the delivery truck to the installation area. The equipment may need to be un-crated
before moving it into the building. The Telco rooms and PBX rooms should be clearly marked as
well. Considerations should be given to the provisioning of back-haul transmission connections.
A list of contacts from the customer, designating key individuals to support the project, must also
be defined. Individuals to address building code, electrical, plumbing, duct work, and structural
questions should also be identified. These individuals should be readily available to answer any on-
site questions, especially questions pertaining to cable runs and locations.
With the above information, a spreadsheet design procedure can be used to determine the amount
of equipment, cable and antennas required for the desired coverage area. Additionally, preliminary
plans for cable runs, equipment locations and antenna placement can be formulated.
A survey of the building should be carried out to determine the equipment room location and check
the cable routing options. Using the floor plan drawings and inputs from the customer, an estimate
of the base station location(s) can be made. The base station should be located as centrally as
possible within the building. This will minimize the coaxial cable lengths and cable losses thereby
The coverage (ERP) from an antenna is dependent on the cable loss from the base station to the
antenna. Therefore, RF distribution design is an iterative process. In order to start the process, an
estimate of the number of antennas and antenna placement within the building is required. Table
7-3 can be used to determine a first pass estimated coverage radius for each antenna.
Using this estimated coverage radius as a starting point, first pass antenna locations can be derived
and drawn on the building floor plans. In a future step, the drawing is used to calculate the cable
runs.
A concern with antenna placement is the maximum allowable received power at the subscriber. As
with any active device, the subscriber receiver is only designed to operate over a range of input
power levels. If the maximum input power level is exceeded, distortion will occur. The input power
level received at the subscriber is a function of the distributed antenna system ERP and the
minimum distance between the subscriber and the distributed antenna. As a rule of thumb, for low
gain, ceiling mounted antennas, the power into the antenna should not exceed 10 dBm. In general,
the antenna ERP should be set to a level that will result in no higher than -30 dBm at the subscriber.
If these design guidelines are not followed, distortion may occur when a subscriber is used in close
proximity to an antenna. This distortion will rapidly decrease as the subscriber moves away from
the antenna.
After estimating the antenna placement, the type of antenna(s) to be used must be selected. In
general, there are two types of antennas to choose from: omni-directional (omni) and directional
antennas. Omni antennas provide a uniform field pattern in 360° in the horizontal.
Directional antennas have increased gain in one or more directions at the expense of reducing the
gain in other directions. There are a number of directional antennas available for indoor use with a
variety of gain patterns.
Omni antennas can be employed in most cases. Directional antennas are useful when covering an
area that is shaped similar to the antenna gain pattern. For example, a long hallway might best be
covered by a "bow tie" antenna as in Figure 7-14.
There are several parameters that need to be considered when choosing the base station type to be
used. The primary variables are:
• Channel capacity
• Maximum downlink power
• Physical size
• Antenna system complexity
• Installation and maintenance
• Cost
For applications requiring only a few traffic channels and minimal forward power, a small
microcell product (limited capacity) may prove to be both economical and easy to install.
For applications requiring greater capacity or higher RF penetration, a larger BTS product, for
instance a macro site BTS, can be used.
The system designer will need to weigh the attributes of each BTS product to determine the best
BTS for their design. For instance, if passive coaxial cable is used to distribute the RF to antennas,
it may be preferable to use more BTS products to limit the length of transmission run and thereby
minimize cable loss (BTS is placed closer to area to be covered). If fiber optic transmission is being
used to distribute the RF, line loss is not as much an issue and therefore, the BTS can be located
further from the area to be covered.
There will inevitably be a need to split a single coaxial cable branch into multiple branches. For
example, a main feeder run may have to be split into two branches to feed two separate antennas.
• RF taps
• Power splitters or dividers
• Directional couplers
7.2.2.7.1 RF Tap
An RF tap acts like a pin hole in a water hose. As the water (RF) flows past the hole, some leaks
out. The RF tap is basically a small antenna that is inserted into the main coaxial line which drains
a small portion of energy from the tapped branch into the new branch (see Figure 7-15). The
drained or coupled energy propagates down the new line.
Standard taps are available from commercial sources and provide a relatively inexpensive way to
branch from a main feeder.
The coupling loss indicates how much of the signal will enter the new branch. For example, if the
source line is at 0 dBm and the tap has a coupling loss of 12 dB, then the power in the new branch
will be -12 dBm. The majority of the energy continues to propagate down the main branch. A
typical application for an RF tap would be to branch several antennas off of a main branch. For
instance, RF taps could be used to provide an antenna for a meeting room with its own local branch
(see Figure 7-16).
The power divider uses a resistive network (or similar approach) to break one input into two or
more outputs of equal power. For instance, a two-way splitter may typically have a loss of 3.5 dB,
so a 0 dBm signal entering a 2-way splitter will exit as two -3.5 dBm signals (see Figure 7-17).
There are two components to the splitter loss. The first is the loss associated with actually splitting
the signal into multiple outputs, and the second is the insertion loss due to resistive loss. This is
why a two way splitter has 3.5 dB of loss rather than 3 dB. There are usually a large selection of
commercial power splitters available for use. A brief sample of various output ports and their
associated loss values are presented in Table 7-4.
With a directional coupler, most of the signal is transmitted to the through port while a small
portion of the signal is diverted to the coupled port. This is similar to a tap; however, the method
used to couple the signal is different and, in general, more efficient (see Figure 7-18).
The directional coupler can be used in situations where a small amount of power needs to be drawn
off of a main branch with minimal disturbance. Directional couplers also come in a multitude of
values.
When selecting splitters, taps or directional couplers, there is a choice between parallel or series
power distribution. A parallel method would use a splitter to branch the main run into local runs.
A series method would use directional couplers or RF taps to divert power from the main cable run
to local runs. Both methods work equally well for short runs. However, as cable runs, antennas and
branches increase, the series method can provide increased power levels at antennas located
furthest from the base station. The benefit of series distribution can be seen in Figure 7-19 and
Figure 7-20.
In the case of parallel power distribution, the power reaching the antenna closest to the insertion
point (250 ft.) has 22 dB more power than the antenna furthest (1000 ft.) from the insertion point.
The non-uniform distribution of power will cause an increased coverage area for the antenna
closest to the insertion point and a decreased coverage area for the antenna farthest from the
insertion point.
In the case of series power distribution using directional couplers, three directional couplers will
be required: 15 dB, 10 dB and 6 dB. With directional couplers, the power delivered to each antenna
is more uniform than with splitters. In addition, there is an 8.5 dB improvement at the final antenna
using the series method as opposed to the parallel method. Overall, series distribution may be used
when a power improvement is required at a distant antenna, or when multiple cable runs becomes
cost prohibitive.
Often, a combination of parallel and series power distribution methods may be used. For example,
a power splitter can be used to divide a main branch into several sub-branches; then, directional
couplers or RF taps can be used to distribute power from the sub-branch to the antennas.
Once the base station and preliminary antenna locations are marked on the floor plans, estimates
for the cable lengths, number of directional couplers, splitters, and taps can be made. The cable
runs should be located in standard cable areas within the building. If the standard cable locations
are not known, a good rule of thumb is to assume that the cable will run down the hallways. The
estimated cable runs and network components (couplers, splitters, and taps) should be drawn on
the building floor plans.
There are several alternatives to be considered when selecting the media for delivering the RF
signal from the base station to the antenna, and vice versa. Ideally the distribution media should
have the following characteristics:
• Low loss
• Flexible
• Durable
• Light weight
• Fire resistant
• Low cost
• Minimum space requirement
There are several varieties of coaxial cable that can meet the above requirements for distributed
antenna applications. Each variety of cable has its own advantages. However, there are trade-offs
involved in selecting a cable type. For example, cable runs that do not require many turns and bends
can utilize typical foam dielectric coaxial cable. This type of cable has low loss, light weight and
excellent durability. The cable comes in a variety of sizes, with loss decreasing as diameter
increases. However, the larger sizes are less flexible, cost more and suffer from increased weight
and space requirements.
A large building with minimal turns and bends can use a larger diameter cable with lower loss. In
some cases, the standard low loss cable may not have enough flexibility for the particular
application. If the system has numerous turns, or sharp bends, a super-flexible cable may be
required. This type of cable trades increased loss for increased flexibility.
If the cable is to be placed in or near air handling spaces, the use of plenum rated cable may be
required. The plenum rating specifies that the cable meets certain fire resistance and smoke
producing specifications. Although most coaxial cables have a fire retardant option, a plenum
rating may be necessary (check local code requirements).
Low loss 7/8" coax may be a good choice for in-building applications. However, because of the
higher price of 7/8" coax, 1/2" coax may be desired.
Radiating (also known as leaky) cable is a type of coaxial cable which has holes milled in the outer
conductor as shown in Figure 7-21.
A small portion of the RF energy that is transmitted down the radiating cable leaks out from the
holes, hence the term "leaky" coax.
Radiating cable can be used in place of point source antennas to provide coverage within buildings
as shown in Figure 7-22.
Some of the advantages of radiating coax are that the coverage is more uniform and the radiated
power levels are low, which improves signal containment and reduces the risk of overloading the
subscriber unit. Although radiating cable can be used most anywhere, typical applications have
been for elevator shafts, long tunnels and for hallways.
A radiating coax system design is similar to a conventional coaxial cable design. A link budget can
be used to tabulate all of the system losses up to the radiating cable. Coupling loss and cable loss
per unit distance factors, which can be obtained from vendor data sheets, are used to determine the
power level radiated by the cable. The coupling factors are typically specified for a 20 foot distance
on either side of the cable as shown in Figure 7-23.
In this example, the input power is 10 dBm and the radiating cable loss per 100 feet is assumed to
be 5.0 dB. The power remaining at the end of the cable is 0 dBm. The power received at a distance
of 20 feet from the radiating cable is the power remaining at the end of the cable less the coupling
loss, which is assumed to be 66 dB for this type of cable.
An indoor propagation model can be used to estimate the path loss between the 20’ mark and the
edge of the building to determine the worst case receive signal level.
If the cable is to be placed in or near air handling spaces, the use of plenum rated cable may be
required. Although most coaxial cables have a fire retardant option, a plenum rating may be
necessary (check local code requirements).
The link budget provides a means to determine the maximum allowable path loss between the base
station and the subscriber unit. The path loss ultimately determines the coverage area, which
equates to the amount of equipment necessary to meet the system performance goals. The actual
environment of the area to be covered can greatly influence the range to which a site will propagate.
The link budget analysis technique takes these environmental characteristics into account. The link
budget is an important part of the detailed design which must be done to ensure coverage quality
and reliability.
The link budget can be used for passive coax systems or active coax systems. The active design
parameters can be included in a spreadsheet tool, although it is more complex than a simple passive
design. However, with a combined passive and active design, "what-if" scenarios can be tested to
see if using amplifiers will improve system performance.
Nokia Siemens Networks recommends that a passive design be considered first, due to its lower
cost.
Figure 7-24 shows a block diagram of the components that enter into the link budget calculation
for both the passive and active cases.
Downlink
Uplink
Active Coax
Propagation
Base Station Amplifier Loss
Base
Lossy Lossy
Portable
Network Network
Downlink
Uplink
For the passive coax system, the downlink received signal strength at the subscriber is calculated
by subtracting the network and propagation losses from the base station transmit power. The uplink
received signal strength at the base station is calculated by subtracting the propagation and network
losses from the subscriber transmit power. In both directions, the received signal level should be
at or above the receive threshold for satisfactory system performance.
With active systems, the amplifier gain must also be included in the link budget. The uplink noise
power changes due to the active components and must also be considered when analyzing the
system.
The propagation path loss is used to determine the maximum coverage radius from each antenna
as shown in Figure 7-25.
A floor penetration loss component may also be included as part of the propagation loss within the
link budget analysis. Depending on the floor construction materials, it may be possible to cover
several floors using one antenna as shown in Figure 7-26. The additional propagation loss due to
penetrating the floors must be included in the link budget calculation when using this approach.
Suggested floor penetration loss factors are presented in Section 7.2.2.10.1.
Floor Loss
Base
Floor Loss
Due to the existence of many variables in an indoor propagation environment, accurate path loss
prediction becomes difficult. These variables include floor/ceiling materials and various wall
construction materials and geometry, in addition to numerous obstacles between the transmitter
and receiver. Presently, there are several methods for predicting path loss for indoor environments.
Among these methods are deterministic models, such as ray tracing, site specific diffraction, and
wall/material loss models. All of these methods describe the path loss for a variety of
circumstances, with a fair amount of accuracy. Their major drawback is computational complexity
since they need to account for a large number of variables (such as wall size and material, location
of furniture, light fixtures, etc.). In addition, these methods are time consuming and costly.
Figure 7-27 shows the plots of the logarithmic models in Table 7-5.
16. These measurements, except for the Free Space models, were made at cellular frequencies.
The path loss curves represent the average path loss as a function of distance for a large number of
data points. Some areas within the building will have higher path loss and some areas will have
lower path loss than the average. The distribution of path loss values around the mean has been
found to approximate a log-normal (bell shaped) curve with a standard deviation in the range of
about 5 to 10 dB. A fade margin can be added in the link budget, if desired, to account for this log-
normal variation of received signal level. The fade margin can be adjusted to achieve the desired
percent area coverage.
In addition to these path loss models, floor attenuation factors (FAFs) have been developed by S.Y.
Seidel and T. S. Rappaport based on thousands of signal strength measurements taken in two
multiple floor buildings. A summary of their experimental results is listed in Table 7-6. The values
in Table 7-6 are the average floor attenuation factors with their respective standard deviations.
Rather than using one of the statistical path loss models, it is possible to make on-site
measurements for the purpose of determining the path loss characteristics of a particular
environment.
Signal strength measurements can be performed on-site, so that the transmit power requirements
can be evaluated and established. This information can be used to decide very accurately how many
antennas will be needed to provide adequate coverage throughout the building.
A test transmitter is set up in the area to be covered. An antenna is connected to the test transmitter
and signal strength measurements are recorded systematically within the expected coverage area.
These measurements may be taken manually with a measuring receiver or automatically with a
commercially available data collection system.
The data collection system produces coverage plots to determine the signal strengths within the
building. Since this is a downlink coverage measurement, care must be taken to insure that the
uplink coverage will also be adequate. A link budget tool can be used in conjunction with the
measured coverage data to insure that both the downlink and uplink coverage requirements are
met.
This design approach is more costly due to the required on-site visit. Approximately one day is
required at the building location to view the equipment room, likely cable routes, and antenna
locations. A test transmitter can be set up in representative areas and coverage data can be collected
using a portable data collection system, or other test receiver. Using the on-site test results, an
accurate system design can be developed to meet the coverage requirements.
After all of the antenna link budget information has been calculated and the propagation path loss
determined using a path loss model or by actual measurements, the results can be compared to the
coverage goals. If the design does not meet the coverage requirements, a second pass should be
completed. The design may be improved by adding antennas, using lower loss cable and/or
changing the cable topology. Several iterations may be necessary to reach a point where all of the
coverage objectives are met.
If the analysis shows that the coverage margins are excessive, some antennas should be removed
to reduce the system cost. Depending on the implementation method and building structure, it may
only be necessary to use one antenna for every two or three floors of coverage.
If after several iterations, the coverage objectives cannot be reached using a simple passive coax
design, two alternatives can be investigated. These alternatives are:
The use of in-line amplifiers must be considered carefully because of the higher cost and
implementation and maintenance complexity. Employing lower loss coaxial cable and locating the
base station as near as possible to the center of the coverage area is recommended. If the system
cannot be designed using passive coax, then in-line amplifiers or fiber optics must be considered.
The following sections discuss the technical issues and design alternatives for active coaxial cable
system planning.
Bi-directional or uni-directional amplifiers can be used to overcome the cable and network losses
in an RF distribution system. Bi-directional amplifiers provide amplification in both the uplink and
downlink direction as shown in Figure 7-30.
Duplexer
Uni-Directional
Uplink Amplifier
In general, the bi-directional amplifier can be used when the uplink and downlink are nearly
balanced. A uni-directional amplifier can be used to improve performance when the system is
uplink limited, possibly due to the use of high power LPAs on the downlink.
The main concerns when using downlink amplification are the amplifier’s maximum composite
output power, gain, and intermodulation performance. The amplifiers that are used in RF
distribution systems have a maximum composite output power that must be shared among all of
the carriers. In order to keep the intermodulation product levels within specification, the power
output per carrier must be limited to a maximum value based on the amplifier’s specifications.
In-Line Amplifier Gain: The amplifier gain is usually adjustable within a given range.
If the calculated required gain is lower than the minimum amplifier gain setting, then an attenuator
must be used in front of the amplifier, as shown in Figure 7-32, to reduce the input signal level.
+30 dB
- 20 dB
Base
Network Loss
Power = 27 dBm 7 dBm 37 dBm Too High
-20 dB +30 dB
- 20 dB
Base
Power Out of In-line Amplifier: The power out of the in-line amplifier is calculated as the input
power plus the amplifier gain. The calculated output power of the amplifier should not exceed the
manufacturer's specification for the amplifier.
The amplifier gain is typically adjustable, thus the gain of the amplifier must be set at a level that
will insure that the maximum composite output power specification is not exceeded.
In order to fully understand the uplink performance characteristics of an active coaxial cable
system, it is necessary to understand some of the fundamentals of receiver system design. These
receiver system design basics are discussed as follows.
Noise Figure: By definition, noise figure (NF) is the difference between the input signal-to-noise
ratio and the output signal-to-noise ratio in dB.
The input signal and noise is amplified by 10 dB and the output noise is also increased by the noise
figure of 10 dB. Therefore, the total increase in the noise floor is 20 dB.
Noise Figure of a Lossy Device: The noise figure of a lossy device, such as a length of a coaxial
cable, filter, splitter, or attenuator is equal to the loss of the device. Figure 7-34 illustrates this
concept.
The term kTB in this figure is used to represent the thermal noise in dBm. The thermal noise level
is the same at the input as it is at the output of a lossy device. However, the signal level has dropped
by the amount equal to the device loss. Therefore, the signal-to-noise ratio at the output of the lossy
device is lower than that at the input by an amount equal to the device loss. Hence, the noise figure
is equal to the device loss.
Cascaded Noise Figure: When two or more system blocks are cascaded together as in Figure 3.20,
the cascaded noise figure formula can be used to determine the total system noise figure.
Where F1, F2, F3, F4.... are the stage noise figures in linear terms, and G1, G2, G3, G4.... are the
stage gains (the gains will be less than one for lossy system blocks), also in linear terms.
F4
G4 F2
F3 G2 F1
Base G3 G1
System NF
Network Network
Loss Amplifier Loss
As seen in the network drawing, the blocks that are cascaded can be active devices or lossy network
devices such as coaxial cable, splitters, couplers, attenuators, or filters.
Sensitivity: The receiver sensitivity is defined as the minimum allowable receive signal level that
will result in a given audio quality, as specified by audio signal-to-noise ratio or audio SINAD.
SINAD is similar to signal-to-noise, and is defined as the ratio of the Signal plus Noise plus
Distortion to Noise plus Distortion. This can be related to a statistical number called the Bit Error
Rate or BER for digital systems.
SINAD = (S + N + D)/(N + D)
Where:
k Boltzmann’s constant = 1.38 x 10-23 W/(Hz K)
As a point of reference, the SINAD for land line call quality ranges between 25 dB and 40 dB. In
order to have acceptable call quality in a fading environment, a higher minimum signal strength is
required.
When amplifiers are used, the uplink noise figure is increased and therefore the receive threshold
must also be increased by the same amount to maintain the same call quality.
The main parameters of concern for an uplink amplifier are noise figure, gain and 3rd order
intermodulation performance.
The amplifier gain is typically adjustable within a specified window. Since the amplifier gain
enters into the cascaded noise figure it must be set as part of the design procedure. It is customary
to set the amplifier gain equal to the cable and network losses between the amplifier and the base
station as shown in Figure 7-36.
There is no advantage to increasing the amplifier gain above the level of the network losses. In fact,
raising the gain will degrade the system intermodulation performance because both the received
signal and the input noise are amplified equally. As such, there is no improvement in the output
signal-to-noise ratio when increasing the amplifier gain above the network losses.
The uplink parameters related to an active coax system can be described as follows:
Amplifier Noise Figure: The amplifier noise figure, which can be obtained from the
manufacturer's data sheet is entered in dB.
Amplifier Gain: The amplifier gain is set equal to the network losses between the amplifier and
the base station.
Base Station Noise Figure: The noise figure for the Nokia Siemens Networks base station is
Noise Summing Degradation: When two or more amplifiers are used in parallel within a network,
the noise power from each amplifier adds together. The end result is to raise the system noise floor.
Figure 7-37 illustrates this concept.
Receiver Noise Rise: To determine the noise rise, which is the amount by which the uplink receive
threshold should be increased, both the cascaded noise figure and the noise summing degradations
are taken into account.
System Noise Figure Without Amplifiers: It is important to determine if the addition of uplink
amplifiers is actually improving uplink performance. The uplink system noise figure is calculated
for the case where amplifiers are not used and compared to when amplifiers are used. The noise
figure for the system, excluding amplifiers, is simply the sum of all of the uplink network losses
and the base station noise figure.
System Noise Figure With Amplifiers: The cascaded noise figure equation is used to determine
the system noise figure with in-line amplifiers. The noise summing degradation is also added in the
system noise figure calculation.
Amplifier Uplink Improvement: The amplifier uplink improvement is the difference between the
system noise figure without amplifiers (passive system) and the system noise figure with
amplifiers. Since uplink amplifiers can only overcome losses between the amplifier and the base
station, the addition of an in-line amplifier may actually degrade system performance. If the result
of an amplifier uplink improvement calculation is negative, then the amplifier has actually
degraded the system uplink performance.
System Level Receive Threshold: Assume that the uplink amplifier gain has been set to be equal
to the loss between the amplifier and the base station. The receive threshold is being increased to
overcome the noise added by the amplifiers. At first glance, it may appear that the amplifiers are
not improving system performance since the receiver noise is increased. However, the receiver
noise is likely increased by a few dB, while the uplink amplifier can overcome 30 to 40 dB of cable/
network loss, when properly located in the system.
Once it has been determined that an amplifier is necessary, the next step is to decide where the
amplifier should be located in the network. In general, the most improvement in coverage will be
obtained by placing the amplifier as near to the antenna as possible. On the downlink side, this will
reduce the line loss between the amplifier output and the antenna. On the uplink side, this will
provide the best improvement in system noise figure and sensitivity. There will usually be a trade-
off between how close the amplifiers are located to an antenna and the number of amplifiers needed
in the system. Figure 7-38 illustrates this idea.
Splitter
Configuration 2
Splitter
In Configuration 1, the amplifier is placed after the splitter so that only one amplifier is required
for two antennas. In Configuration 2 the maximum improvement in system performance is
achieved by placing two amplifiers before the splitter/combiner.
For Scenario 2: An uplink amplifier is placed relatively near the antenna. This improves the uplink
noise figure by 36 dB (from 52 dB to 16 dB). The improvement is nearly equal to the loss between
the amplifier and the base station (Loss = 40 dB).
For Scenario 3: The amplifier has been located too close to the base station producing a system
noise figure of 51 dB. Only a 1 dB improvement in the system noise figure and sensitivity is
provided for this configuration. Scenario 3 demonstrates that there is no advantage to using an
uplink amplifier close to the base station.
In summary, placing the uplink amplifier close to the antenna is analogous to using tower mounted
amplifiers in a macro-cellular system. The amplifier gain compensates for the coaxial cable line
loss, thereby increasing performance.
The following sections provide information regarding fiber optic system architecture and design.
A fiber optic distribution system employs a fiber optic base unit along with a number of fiber optic
antenna units to distribute RF throughout a building. Figure 7-40 illustrates the star architecture.
Fiber optic systems for distributing RF in buildings offer a number of advantages over coaxial
cable as follows:
Installation flexibility: Since the fiber optic cable loss is negligible, deviations from the planned
cable route during the installation process will not affect the system performance. In coax systems
deviations from the designed cable route can result in more cable loss and degraded system
performance. Deviations from the planned cable route are common because the building drawings
used to lay out the cable runs are not always complete or up to date.
Reduced Interference: Optical cable does not radiate, which eliminates any electromagnetic
interference concerns for the optical cables.
Installation Ease: Optical cable is flexible and light weight, which simplifies the system
installation.
The main drawback to fiber optics is the relative expense. The fiber optic cable itself is generally
less expensive than coaxial cable; however, the cost of the active fiber base unit and the active fiber
antennas add to the system expense.
Fiber optic systems in general will not make good economic sense for smaller implementations,
where low cost coaxial cable can be employed to provide good system performance. For larger
facilities, where very long cable lengths may be required, either active coax systems or fiber optics
may need to be employed. For larger implementations, the cost of a fiber optic system is
approximately the same as an equivalent active coaxial cable system. Fiber optic systems have
several advantages over active coaxial systems:
• Easier to engineer
• Less sensitive to installation variations
• Easier to install
• Easier to maintain
Fiber optic distribution systems are less complicated to design than active coax systems. The
downlink ERP and uplink receive threshold are essentially the same for every antenna unit. It
doesn’t matter whether the antenna is located near to the base unit or at a great distance from the
base unit. If the propagation environment within the building is somewhat uniform, then the
coverage radius for each fiber antenna will be the same. If there are different propagation
environments, such as factory and office areas, then a different coverage radius would be expected
for each area type; however, within a given area type, the coverage radius from each antenna unit
would be approximately the same.
With the assumption that the uplink coverage is noise limited, the number of antenna units used
will govern the uplink coverage. This is because each fiber optic antenna unit and base transceiver
pair have active devices that contribute noise in the uplink direction as depicted in Figure 7-41.
The noise sums together at the RF combiner. The total noise power increases and the coverage area
decreases as more antenna units are used. The reduced coverage radius is due to the increase in
uplink noise associated with adding more fiber links.
A good starting point for the fiber optic design is to assume that at least ten fiber antenna units will
be employed. Between one and ten antennas, the uplink coverage radius decreases very rapidly.
Above ten antennas, the uplink coverage radius decreases at a much more gradual rate. Even if only
a few antennas are expected for the initial implementation, it is preferable to design the system
using the coverage radius associated with ten antennas. In this way, there will be little impact on
system performance if additional antennas are required at a later date to expand the system.
A number of in-building distribution system alternatives have been presented. Because the cost of
passive coaxial RF distribution systems is typically lower, it should be used whenever practical.
For larger facilities, fiber optics can be used to distribute the RF signal. Fiber offers the key
advantage of negligibly low cable loss, which eases system design and implementation. Another
alternative for larger buildings is to employ active coaxial cable systems. Care must be taken when
using in-line amplifiers to insure that amplifier gain and noise are properly accounted for.
The design process discussed here can be used to obtain an estimate of the in-building system
requirements. For larger, more complex buildings, or when a firm quotation is required, a more
accurate site survey method should be used.
3. Kozono, S. 1985. “Base Station Polarization Diversity Reception for Mobile Radio.”
IEEE Transactions on Vehicular Technology. Vol. VT-33. No. 4. pp. 301-306.
5. Tobin, Joe, Rob Nikides, Devesh Patel, Edward Golovin. 1997. “CDMA Dual Pole
Antenna Testing - Arlington Heights, IL.” Version 1.0. Motorola.
8. Rappaport, Theodore S., and Sandhu, Sandip, "Radio-Wave Propagation for Emerging
Wireless Personal-Communication Systems". IEEE Antennas and Propagation
Magazine, Vol. 36, No. 5, October 1994.
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8 8 Synchronization of the
CDMA System
Table of Contents
During any interruptions in the availability of the primary GPS reference, BTS synchronization can
be maintained for a minimum time interval by an MSO (Medium Stability Oscillator), HSO (High
Stability Oscillator) or QHSO (Quartz High Stability Oscillator) backup oscillator.
This chapter provides a brief overview of the GPS followed by a summary of CDMA base station
GPS antenna installation requirements and guidelines for optimizing antenna installations.
Frequency Tolerance
The GPS is designed to operate with a minimum constellation of 21 operational and 3 active spare
(24 total) satellites. The GPS satellite constellation is organized with 6 orbital planes each with an
inclination of 55 degrees to the equator and an altitude of 20,200 kilometers. GPS satellite orbits
are non-geosynchronous and complete one orbit in approximately 12 hours. It therefore is
GPS Satellite
3 The GPS Constellation
The fully operational GPS constellation
consists of a minimum of 24 satellites
arranged in 6 orbital planes. GPS satellites
GPS Satellite operate in a non-geosynchronous orbit where
2 one orbit is completed in approximately
twelve hours. The minimum GPS
constellation is arranged such that a
minimum of 4 satellites are in view anywhere
on the Earth with an unobstructed view.
Ca
rrie
GPS Satellite
2G
N
Hz
+1.
GPS Satellite
0
1
2 3M
Hz
GPS Antenna
CDMA Cellsite
All C/A GPS satellites employ 1.023MHz wide spread spectrum modulation on a common carrier
frequency of 1.57542GHz. GPS transmissions received at the surface of the Earth should have a
minimum RF signal strength of -160dBW.
A complete GPS antenna kit that includes an active GPS antenna, antenna mast, mounting
GPS Antenna
Cellsite Cable
"Entry Point"
Lightning
Optional Equipment Arrestor
(For use in multi-frame
installations) Low Loss RF Cabling
IN
Expansion Frames
Out Out
A C
Cellsite
To
Out Out Single Point
B D Ground
CDMA MODEM Frame RF GPS Antenna Connection
To RF GPS Ant To E-GPS Ant To RF GPS Ant
Connection Connection Connection
GPS Signal
Splitter Earth Ground
Expansion
Frame
M810
SC480
The GPS antenna is used to capture and amplify transmissions from multiple in view GPS satellites
while providing adequate rejection of out of band signals. The GPS antenna consists of an antenna
element, pre-selector filter and Low Noise Amplifier (LNA). The Motorola Timing-2000 (no
longer in production), Andrew Corporation GPS-QBW-20N and Synergy-Systems Timing-3000
antennas have been certified for use with Nokia Siemens Networks CDMA base station products.
The antenna element must be capable of receiving transmissions from multiple GPS satellites
while in view throughout their orbit. A suitable GPS antenna will have a nearly uniform gain
throughout a 360 ° azimuth and to within 20 ° above the horizon. Extending antenna gain to
elevations of less than 20 ° offers little benefit in terms of satellite tracking and can actually make
the GPS receiver more vulnerable to terrestrial interference sources.
An active antenna is utilized to minimize antenna system noise figure and maximize usable antenna
cable lengths. A double or triple filtered antenna is recommended to provide a high level of LNA
overload and interference rejection.
The active antenna LNA is powered by a +5VDC ±0.5V bias provided from the CDMA BTS
through the GPS antenna cabling. The CDMA BTS can source a maximum antenna supply current
of 80mA to power the antenna LNA and an active signal splitter (if used). A current draw of greater
than 80mA from the GPS receiver antenna port may result in a “GPS Receiver Failed Self-Test
Failure” (28-10050) or “Source Unavailable” (28-29052) alarm.
The Nokia Siemens Networks recommended GPS antennas meet the requirements outlined in
Table 8-1, Recommended GPS Antenna Specifications and have proven quality with good field
performance. While it is possible to use other antennas, considerable care must be exercised in
selecting alternatives to insure full BTS compatibility for all conditions.
GPS antenna placement can be one of the most critical factors in realizing reliable BTS
synchronization. Considerations of several (often conflicting) factors are required in determining
the optimal GPS antenna position. The GPS antenna position should ideally be chosen to provide
a maximum view to the horizon in all directions. However, sacrifices in antenna visibility are often
necessary when considering other factors such as RF interference from nearby transmit antennas
or potential antenna damage due to impact from falling ice or lightning strikes. For example the
placement of a GPS antenna atop a cellular tower would likely provide a maximum satellite
visibility but would be a poor positioning choice due to potential lightning damage or interference
from collocated cellsite transmit antennas.
Consideration must also be given to changing environmental conditions when selecting a GPS
antenna location. Dense foliage can significantly attenuate GPS transmissions and may not cause
problems during fall or winter months but could impact GPS reception during other seasons or with
continued tree growth.
In most cases suitable compromises can be made to obtain the necessary mix of GPS satellite
visibility and protection of antenna hardware.
A line of sight view is required between the GPS antenna and any satellites used in determining a
timing solution. Before the GPS receiver can provide accurate timing information it must first
determine the location of its antenna in 3D space. Information from a minimum of four (4)
satellites is required to determine the 3D antenna location. After the GPS receiver has determined
its antenna location it can continue to provide accurate timing information with as few as one (1)
satellite in view.
Because GPS satellites operate in non-geosynchronous orbital patterns the GPS antenna must be
prepared to receive GPS signals from most any direction. The minimum GPS constellation
guarantees that a minimum of four (4) GPS satellites will be in view from any location on the Earth
While the ideal GPS antenna installation provides an unobstructed view in all directions to within
20 ° of the horizon, practical limitations exist at some cellsite locations that afford only a fraction
of the desired visibility. Reductions in GPS antenna visibility can result in increased BTS
initialization times or in the reporting of numerous “GPS/Primary Reference Source Failure”
(28-10040) or “Source Unavailable” (28-29052) alarms from affected BTS’s. Care should be taken
in selecting the antenna location to maximize the available visibility. Even small improvements in
visibility can have a large impact in receiver performance as can be seen in the example presented
in Figure 8-3, Maximizing GPS Antenna Visibility.
Cellsites that must operate in environments that do not allow for the reception of the minimum four
(4) GPS satellites required for cellsite initialization such as in “urban canyons” of dense cities
should consider the use of the Remote GPS (RGPS) or to operate in the GPS “surveyed” mode.
Information regarding the RGPS receiver and “surveyed” mode operation are presented in
Section 8.4 and Section 8.5.1.5 respectively of this document.
GPS GPS
Satellite Satellite Antenna position should be chosen to
GPS maximize visibility to horizon. Antenna
Satellite location "B" minimizes shadowing by
nearby building making it possible to
receive more GPS satellites. Improved
GPS antenna visibility will reduce number
Obstr of GPS alarms and BTS initialization time.
Ob
ucted
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G PS
GP
GPS GPS
signa
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Satellite Satellite
i gn
l
al
Ob
str
uc
ted
G PS
sig
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l
Antenna
Location "A"
Antenna
Location "B"
The GPS antenna position should be chosen to minimize the potential of damage due to a direct or
nearby lightning strike. In cellsite installations employing an antenna tower it is recommended that
the GPS antenna be mounted near the tower base (but not where it may be impacted by falling ice)
to allow the tower to act as a lightning rod. Many different approaches have been used to define
the protective area provided by a nearby tower or lightning rod such as the 45° protection zone or
the rolling ball method. While the accuracy of these methods has recently come into question the
general rule holds where higher antenna elevations yield a higher probability of damage due to
lightning. The GPS antenna should never be at or near the highest elevation of its surroundings.
The GPS antenna cabling must be grounded at the cellsite master ground point. If the GPS antenna
must be positioned on or close to the cellsite tower it will necessary to bond the antenna and cabling
shield to the tower as well to avoid lightning flashover.
Outrigger Mounting
45° 45°
Not Recommended due to:
- Potential damage due to lightning strike
- Potential damage due to falling ice
Recommended Mounting Location - Potential antenna shadowing unless long
outrigger is used
Provides adequate visibility with freedom from:
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- RF Interference from cellsite transmissions
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While Nokia Siemens Networks recommended GPS antennas utilize a conically shaped radome to
minimize the likelihood of blockage due to debris or snow buildup care should still be taken in
positioning the antenna to minimize any such accumulation on the antenna surface. Mounting the
GPS antenna on a pole or mast at an elevation above any potential snow or debris buildup is a
common solution to this problem. Pole or mast mounting also allows any temporary ice
accumulation to quickly dissipate after severe weather conditions subside.
8.3.2.5 RF Interference
While the BTS GPS receiver and recommended antennas provide a high level of out of band
interference rejection care should be taken to avoid placing the GPS antenna in the direct radiation
path of cellular or other transmit antennas. To minimize interference potential the GPS antenna
should be positioned at a different elevation and as far as possible from nearby transmit antennas.
8.3.3 RF Cabling
A wide range of coaxial cable types may be used between the GPS antenna and CDMA BTS
connection. In choosing the GPS antenna cable all RF, physical installation and environmental
The chosen antenna cable must support all installation requirements such as the minimum cable
bend radius, operating temperature range any special insulation requirements such as ultra-violet
light resistance, armor jacketing for rodent proofing, plenum ratings, etc. Signal loss and minimum
bend radius information for commonly used GPS antenna cable types is presented in Table 8-2
antenna cable loss / bend radius data.
Loss / length @
Cable Type Minimum Bend Radius Cable Diameter
1575MHz
Care must be exercised in properly terminating and weather-proofing all cable connections. A
common problem experienced with GPS antenna installations involves poor cable terminations or
weather-proofing that result in degraded performance over time and eventual failures. Please refer
to the GPS Antenna Kit installation and cable termination instructions contained in appendix A of
this document for proper weather-proofing and cable termination guidelines.
A surge arrestor should always be employed at the GPS antenna cable building or outdoor BTS
enclosure entry point to protect cellsite equipment and for operator safety. The surge arrestor
should be connected to the cellsite single point ground using a low impedance conductor as shown
in Figure 8-2. The surge arrestor should have a low insertion loss within the GPS L1 band and must
be capable of passing the antenna LNA 5VDC supply voltage. The Polyphaser DGXZ+06NFNF-
A (Part Number: 8089211C01) surge arrestor is Nokia Siemens Networks recommended due to its
low clamping voltage and high surge handling capabilities. The DGXZ+06NFNF-A has the
following performance specifications:
Parameter Specification
A GPS signal splitter may be used in multi-frame installations to share one GPS antenna with the
GPS receiver in each connected frame. The Symetricom 58536A (Part Number:
CGDSHP58536A) GPS 4-output active signal splitter is Nokia Siemens Networks recommended
due to its ease of use and reliable design. The 58536A contains an integrated LNA to compensate
for splitting losses that is powered by the GPS antenna supply voltage from any connected frame
while also properly biasing the antenna port. The 58536A has the following performance
specifications:
Parameter Specification
The total GPS receiver antenna current when using the Andrew GPS-QBW-20N antenna and
Symmetricom 58536A signal splitter would be:
IGPSAntenna = 73mA
To realize optimal GPS receiver performance the total GPS antenna system gain and noise figure
at the CDMA BTS GPS antenna input must meet the following requirements:
Frame Type
Parameter
SC24/48/72xx, SC480 UBS Macro, M810
Total Antenna System +10dB < G < +26dB +14dB < G < +32dB
Gain (G): (Within the GPS
L1 band (1575.42 MHz
+1.023MHz))
Total Antenna System <4.0 dB <4.0dB
Noise Figure:
Operation outside of these limits can negatively impact receiver operation. Potential negative
impacts include increased cellsite initialization times, the reporting of “GPS/Primary Reference
Source Failure” alarms and a reduction in receiver interference immunity.
The total antenna system gain can be calculated by summing the gains and losses (in decibels) of
all antenna system elements using the following equation:
As an example the antenna system gain of a hypothetical SC48xx cellsite GPS installation utilizing
the following elements (pictured in Figure 8-5, GPS antenna Loss Budget / Noise Figure
Calculation) is calculated as follows:
G = 14.7dB
The calculated gain of this hypothetical GPS antenna system is +14.7dB which is within the
required gain range of +10dB to +26dB. If the resulting gain were less than +10dB modifications
to the antenna system such as using a lower loss cable to increase the overall gain would be
required.
The GPS antenna system noise figure requirement is seldom violated unless a non recommended
GPS antenna is used or additional signal amplifiers are employed to compensate for large cable
losses. The total antenna system noise figure can be calculated using the following equation:
f2 – 1 f3 – 1
f = f 1 + ------------- + ----------------- + …
g1 g1 × g2
g1 = gain of stage 1
The noise figure of the hypothetical GPS antenna system would be calculated as follows:
1.22 – 1 5.62 – 1
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- + ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
316 × 0.240 × 0.977 × 0.891 × 0.501 316 × 0.240 × 0.977 × 0.891 × 0.501 × 0.891
f = 1.62
The calculated noise figure of this hypothetical GPS antenna system is 2.09dB which is below the
+4.0dB maximum as required. Violations in antenna system noise figure can be addressed by
utilizing lower loss antenna cabling, signal amplifiers with lower noise figures and reducing the
signal losses prior to any in-line signal amplifiers. Difficulties in satisfying antenna system noise
figure requirements are usually due to need to utilize long cable runs. The use of an RGPS receiver
is recommended for installations that require lengthy cable runs to the point that system gain and
noise figure requirements are difficult to satisfy.
The RGPS receiver is only supported with CSM-II (Kit Number: SGLN4132ED or later hardware)
and all CSA card types. A typical legacy frame RGPS installation is presented in Figure 8-6, Single
and Multi-Frame Remote GPS Configuration.
The digital interface supported by legacy frames allows for cable distances of up to 1km between
the RGPS receiver and base station. Signal delays through all RGPS cabling and hardware are
automatically measured and compensated for by BTS hardware and software. An optional Remote
Please refer to the appropriate frame type Hardware Installation manual for additional details
regarding RGPS installation.
RGPS
Receiver
(01-86012H0x)
Cellsite Cable
"Entry Point"
Cellsite
Ground
RGPS Interface
Cable (See Note 1) RGPS Receiver Cable (See Note 1)
Lightning Arrestor
(See Note 2)
(CGDS0971017AA1)
RGPS Connetor
(See Note 3)
RGPS IN Optional Equipment
(For use in multi-frame installations)
30-86433H02 Main Out (See Note 3)
RGD
EXP 1 30-86433H02
EXP 2 30-86433H02
EXP 3 30-86433H02
Expansion Frames
Notes:
1. One (1) of two approaches can be used to make connections between the RGPS receiver, Lightning Arrestor and
RGPS connection on the Modem Frame or RGD card. A single 30-87465C0x cable which is terminated with an
RGPS "Deutsch" connector on one end and a 15 pin subminature D connector can be used by cutting the cable
where the lightning arrestor is to be installed (any excess cable can also be removed at this point). The other
approach is to use a 30-86039H between the RGPS receiver and Lightning Arrestor and an 30-86433H07 cable
between the lightning arrestor and RGPS MODEM Frame connector.
2. The pictured lightning arrestor is recommended for use at the cable building entry point. Outdoor cellsites may
include a punchblock type lightning arrestor / cable termination point. Please refer to the appropriate frame
type Hardware Installation manual for detailed RGPS connection information.
3. An optional Remote GPS Distribution (RGD) card can be utilized to share one (1) RGPS receiver with multiple
Starter Frame co-located CDMA frames.
A typical UBS frame RGPS installation is presented in Figure 8-7, UBS Remote GPS
Configuration. UBS frames support operation with either a Trimble Accutime-Gold (Kit Number:
STLN6594) or ONCORE based (Part Number: 0186012H03 / H04) RGPS receiver.
RGPS
Trimble 01-86012H03/H04
Accutime-Gold (Legacy)
Cellsite Cable
"Entry Point"
Cellsite
Ground
5. The Yellow and Yellow/Black color coded conductors used in legacy (SC24/48/72xx and
SC3xx) installations must be disconnected from the lightning arrestor if the Trimble
M810 Accutime-Gold RGPS receiver is used or damage to the RGPS receiver may result. Care
must be exercised when making connections to the lightning arrestor to insure proper
connectivity. Wiring errors can lead to improper operation or permanent RGPS receiver
UBS Macro
damage. Please refer to the 1X UBS Macro BTS Hardware Installation or 1X M810
Picocell BTS Hardware Installation manual for additional information regarding RGPS
connectivity requirements.
The digital interface supported by UBS frames allows for cable distances of up to 304m between
the RGPS receiver and base station. Signal delays through all RGPS cabling and hardware are
automatically measured and compensated for by BTS hardware and software.
Please refer to the appropriate frame type Hardware Installation manual for additional details
regarding RGPS installation.
UBS frames support a synchronization sharing interface that allows a single GPS receiver to
provide synchronization to multiple frames connected in a daisy-chain configuration. The
synchronization sharing interface can support the operation of four (4) frames with a maximum
total cable length of 915m between the RGPS receiver or starter frame and last frame and
individual cable not exceeding 304m in length as shown in Figure 8-8, UBS Synchronization
Sharing.
Process Total
CSM Card 12 minutes (code load) Note 6 34 Requires complete code load
Replacement 20 minutes (satellite acquisition) minutes and GPS receiver download of
2 minutes (synchronization) almanac / satellite ephemeris
information from tracked
satellites prior to enable.
CSM Cold Start 20 minutes (satellite acquisition) 22 Requires GPS receiver
Initialization 2 minutes (synchronization) minutes download of almanac / satellite
Note 7 ephemeris information from
tracked satellites prior to enable.
CSM Warm Start 1.5 minutes (satellite acquisition) 3.5 Satellite almanac / ephemeris
Initialization 2 minutes (synchronization) minutes information maintained in GPS
Note 8 receiver memory allowing for
fast satellite acquisition.
Process Total
CSM Code 12 minutes (code load) Note 6 15.5 Complete code load and fast
Upgrade 1.5 minutes (satellite acquisition) minutes satellite acquisition due to
(outage) 2 minutes (synchronization) almanac / ephemeris
information being maintained in
GPS receiver memory.
Note 6 – Code load times may vary depending upon image size in a given software release. SC480
CSA card code load times are significantly shorter than CSM code load times.
Note 7 – A cold start initialization involves a power interruption to the CSM card.
It is recommended that an examination be performed with any cellsite that requires significantly
longer initialization periods than those listed in Table 8-3. Long initialization periods could be due
to a degrading antenna system problem that could eventually lead to a complete GPS failure and
the inability to initialize the cellsite.
A total of seven (7) configuration parameters contained within a Circuit BTS (cBTS)
Configuration Data File (CDF) or Packet BTS (pBTS) Network Element Configuration File
(NECF) configuration file can impact GPS receiver operation. Each of these elements must contain
accurate information to insure proper GPS receiver and cellsite operation. A description of each
parameter and their required settings are contained in the following sections of this document.
Please refer to the CDMA2000 1X “System Commands Reference” manual for additional
information regarding CSM / CSA card configuration parameters.
The <CSMRefSrc 1> parameter is used to select the cellsite primary reference source type. Valid
settings include:
<CDF> /
Craft Person <NECB>
Configuration
Note 9 – The “Mate GPS” reference source type is not supported by the SC480 CSA card.
An improper configuration of the <CSMRefSrc 1> parameter can prevent either or both CSM cards
from having access to a primary timing reference source. Such an error would likely prevent the
affected CSM from being brought into service.
The <CSMRefSrc 1> parameter configuration can be displayed or modified using the OMCR
“DISPLAY BTS CSMGEN” or “EDIT CSM CSMGEN” commands respectively.
The <CSMRefSrc2> parameter is used to select the cellsite backup synchronization reference type.
Valid settings include:
<CDF> /
Craft Person <NECB>
Configuration
Note 10 – A CSA/CSM-II card configured for operation with an HSO will automatically detect and
compensate for operation with an installed HSO, MSO or QHSO card. CSM-II hardware is
required in the frame primary and secondary CSM slots for operation with an MSO or QHSO
backup.
The <BtsLatGps> parameter reflects the GPS antenna location in the milliseconds format. Valid
values can range from -324000000 (which corresponds to -90°) to +324000000 (which
corresponds to +90°).
Positive latitude values represent locations in the northern hemisphere and negative latitude values
correspond to locations in the southern hemisphere.
The following equation is used to convert from the <Deg:Min:Sec> format to the milliseconds
format:
The <BTSLatGps> parameter is typically used by the GPS receiver as a seed in determining the
actual GPS antenna location (when the <LocAccuracy> flag is set to the “estimated” mode). When
the <LocAccuracy> flag is set to the “surveyed” mode the GPS receiver assumes that the supplied
location data is the current GPS antenna location and no determination is performed by the GPS
receiver. The <BtsLatGps> parameter should be accurate to within +1 minute (±1850 meters)
when operating in the “estimated” mode and within ±1.6 seconds (±50 meters) when operating in
The <BTSLatGps> parameter configuration can be modified using the OMCR “EDIT TBTS
SITELOCATION” command.
The <BtsLongGps> parameter reflects the GPS antenna location in the milliseconds format. Valid
values can range from -648000000 (which corresponds to -180°) to +648000000 (which
corresponds to +180°). Positive longitude values represent locations in the eastern hemisphere and
negative longitude values correspond to locations in the western hemisphere.
The following equation is used to convert from the <Deg:Min:Sec> format to the milliseconds
format:
The <BTSLongGps> parameter is typically used by the GPS receiver as a seed in determining the
actual GPS antenna location (when the <LocAccuracy> flag is set to the “estimated” mode). When
the <LocAccuracy> flag is set to the “surveyed” mode the GPS receiver assumes that the supplied
location data is the current GPS antenna location and no determination is performed by the GPS
receiver. The <BtsLongGps> parameter should be accurate to within +1 minute (±1850 meters)
when operating in the “estimated” mode and within ±1.6 seconds (±50 meters) when operating in
the “surveyed” mode (See Caution in Section 8.5.1.6).
The <BTSLongGps> parameter configuration can be modified using the OMCR “EDIT TBTS
SITELOCATION” command.
The <BtsHeightGps> parameter reflects the GPS antenna height in centimeters using a WGS-84
GPS ellipsoid. Valid values can range from -100000cm to +1800000cm. The <BtsHeightGps>
parameter is typically used by the GPS receiver as a seed in determining the actual GPS antenna
height (when the <LocAccuracy> flag is set to the “estimated” mode). When the <LocAccuracy>
flag is set to the “surveyed” mode the GPS receiver assumes that the supplied location data
represents the current exact GPS antenna location and no location determination is performed by
the GPS receiver. The <BtsHeightGps> parameter should be accurate to within ±100000
centimeters when operating in the “estimated” mode and within ±5000 centimeters when operating
in the “surveyed” mode (See Caution in Section 8.5.1.6).
The <BTSHeightGps> parameter configuration can be displayed or modified using the OMCR
“DISPLAY BTS/FRAME GPSANT” or “EDIT FRAME GPSANT” commands respectively.
The <LocAccuracy> parameter is a flag to set the GPS receiver navigation mode. When set to the
“estimated” mode (LocAccuracy = 0) the GPS receiver assumes that any supplied location
coordinates (BtsLatGps, BtsLongGps, BtsHeightGps) are approximate and that the GPS receiver
should determine (navigate) its actual antenna location. When set to the “surveyed” mode
(LocAccuracy = 1) the GPS receiver assumes that the supplied location coordinates represent the
actual GPS antenna position which time solutions will be based on.
CAUTION: The “surveyed” mode should be used with extreme care and only in situations where
it is impossible or impractical to install the GPS antenna in a position where it can typically receiver
four (4) or more satellites for a significant length of time. The “surveyed” mode does not reduce
satellite acquisition time and should not be used for this purpose. The use of the surveyed mode
needs to be used with caution as any errors in the supplied location data beyond the specified limits
can result in significant timing errors or erratic GPS receiver operation.
It is recommended that guidance from the Nokia Siemens Networks GCC office be obtained before
configuring any cellsite to operate in the GPS “surveyed” mode.
The <LocAccuracy> parameter configuration can be modified using the OMCR “EDIT TBTS
SITELOCATION” command.
The <GPSAntDelay> parameter is used to compensate for timing delays in cellsite installations
that require long GPS antenna cable runs. The <GPSAntDelay> parameter is typically used in
cellsites that employ an RF GPS receiver (an internal GPS receiver with an RF connection to an
external RF GPS antenna) with cable runs in excess of 100 meters. Cellsites employing antenna
cable lengths of less than 100 meters generally set the <GPSAntDelay> parameter to a value of
zero (0) due to the minor introduced cable delay. Valid values can range from 0 η S to 999999 η S.
The <GPSAntDelay> parameter configuration can be displayed or modified using the OMCR
“DISPLAY BTS/FRAME GPSANT” or “EDIT FRAME GPSANT” commands respectively.
In systems employing a Remote GPS (RGPS) receiver the <GPSAntDelay> parameter should be
set to zero (0) as the RGPS cable delay is automatically measured and compensated for. If a non-
zero value is supplied to an RGPS receiver, the supplied configuration value will be used instead
of the automatically measured value.
The <HeightMode> parameter should always be set to the “ELLIP” (0) setting as the “SEA_LEV”
(1) setting is no longer supported. The <HeightMode> parameter selects the height reference used
by the BTS GPS receiver in interpreting the GPS antenna height information supplied in the
CAUTION: Setting the <HeightMode> parameter to the “SEA_LEV” value may prevent an
affected BTS from being brought into service.
The <HeightMode> parameter configuration can be displayed or modified using the OMCR
“DISPLAY BTS/FRAME GPSANT” or “EDIT FRAME GPSANT” commands respectively.
The UBS GPS receiver configuration can be displayed or modified using the OMCR ”DISPLAY
GPS_SRC GPSCONF” or “ADD GPS_SRC DEVICE” commands respectively. The “ADD
GPS_SRC DEVICE” command format and parameters are as follows:
Please refer to the CDMA2000 1X “System Commands Reference” manual for additional
information regarding the “DISPLAY GPS_SRC GPSCONF” and “ADD GPS_SRC DEVICE”
commands.
The <latitude> parameter is typically used by the GPS receiver as a seed in determining the actual
GPS antenna location (when the <locaccuracy> flag is set to the “estimated” mode). When the
<locaccuracy> flag is set to the “surveyed” mode the GPS receiver assumes that the supplied
location data is the current GPS antenna location and no determination is performed by the GPS
receiver. The <latitude> parameter should be accurate to within +1 minute (±1850 meters) when
operating in the “estimated” mode and within ±1.6 seconds (±50 meters) when operating in the
“surveyed” mode (See Caution in Section 8.6.1.4).
The <longitude> parameter is typically used by the GPS receiver as a seed in determining the actual
GPS antenna location (when the <locaccuracy> flag is set to the “estimated” mode). When the
<locaccuracy> flag is set to the “surveyed” mode the GPS receiver assumes that the supplied
location data is the current GPS antenna location and no determination is performed by the GPS
receiver. The <longitude> parameter should be accurate to within +1 minute (±1850 meters) when
operating in the “estimated” mode and within ±1.6 seconds (±50 meters) when operating in the
“surveyed” mode (See Caution in Section 8.6.1.4).
The <antheight> parameter reflects the GPS antenna height in centimeters using a WGS-84 GPS
ellipsoid. Valid values can range from -100000cm to +1800000cm. The <antheight> parameter is
typically used by the GPS receiver as a seed in determining the actual GPS antenna location (when
the <locaccuracy> flag is set to the “estimated” mode). When the <locaccuracy> flag is set to the
“surveyed” mode the GPS receiver assumes that the supplied location data represents the current
exact GPS antenna location and no location determination is performed by the GPS receiver. The
<antheight> parameter should be accurate to within ±100000 centimeters when operating in the
“estimated” mode and within ±5000 centimeters when operating in the “surveyed” mode (See
Caution in Section 8.6.1.4).
The <locaccuracy> parameter is a flag to set the GPS receiver navigation mode. When set to the
“estimated” mode the GPS receiver assumes that any supplied location coordinates (latitude,
longitude, antheight) are approximate and that the GPS receiver should determine (navigate) its
actual antenna location. When set to the “surveyed” mode the GPS receiver assumes that the
supplied location coordinates represent the actual GPS antenna position which time solutions will
be based on.
CAUTION: The “surveyed” mode should be used with extreme care and only in situations where
it is impossible or impractical to install the GPS antenna in a position where it can typically receiver
four (4) or more satellites for a significant length of time. The “surveyed” mode does not reduce
satellite acquisition time and should not be used for this purpose. The use of the surveyed mode
needs to be used with caution as any errors in the supplied location data beyond the specified limits
can result in significant timing errors or erratic GPS receiver operation.
It is recommended that guidance from the Nokia Siemens Networks GCC office be obtained before
configuring any cellsite to operate in the GPS “surveyed” mode.
The <gpsantdelay> parameter is used to compensate for timing delays in cellsite installations that
require long GPS antenna cable runs. The <gpsantdelay> parameter is typically used in cellsites
that employ an E-GPS receiver (an internal GPS receiver with an RF connection to an external RF
GPS antenna) with cable runs in excess of 100 meters. Cellsites employing antenna cable lengths
of less than 100 meters generally set the <gpsantdelay> parameter to a value of zero (0) due to the
minor introduced cable delay. Valid values can range from 0 η S to 999999 η S.
The current status of a cellsite GPS receiver can be obtained through OMCR command.
The currently active CSM / CSA reference source, number of GPS satellites being tracked and the
determined cellsite GPS antenna location can be obtained through the OMCR <status csm-bts#-
csm#> command as in the following example:
OMC-0000>status csm-153-1
Detailed GPS receiver status including the current receiver operating mode, GPS time, number of
satellites tracked, cellsite GPS antenna location for UBS / M810 BTS’s can be obtained through
the OMCR <status GPS_SRC-BTS#-2-1> for an M810 and <status GPS_SRC-BTS#-1-1> for a
UBS Macro type frame. An example of a GPS status command and response from an M810 BTS
is as follows:
OMC-0000>status gps_src-1906-2-1
Receiver Status
---------------
Receiver Mode : Overdetermined Clock
Questionable Accuracy : no
Antenna Open : no
Antenna Shorted : no
Nokia Siemens Networks CDMA base stations provide protection against temporary GPS
interruptions through the use of a backup clock reference source. The Medium Stability Oscillator
(MSO) can maintain BTS synchronization for a minimum of 8 hours and the High Stability
Oscillator (HSO) or Quartz High Stability Oscillator (QHSO) can maintain BTS synchronization
for a minimum of 24 hours during the absence of the GPS timing reference. Soft-handoff failures
may be experienced for cellsites that have been operating without a GPS timing reference for
periods greater than the backup clock holdover capabilities. The “Reference Source Unreliable”
(28-10111) or “Synchronization Degraded” (28-29051) alarm will be reported by any cellsite to
indicate a GPS outage longer that has persisted beyond the minimum backup clock holdover
period. It should be realized that while soft-hand-off failures may occur call originations/
terminations and softer
hand-off will still be possible with this BTS. Since it is not possible to re-initialize a BTS with a
non-functional GPS sub-system it is important to know if the GPS antenna is functioning properly
prior to removing the primary CSM/CSA from service.
Feature 9336 provides a means to enable CDMA BTS’s in cases where the GPS has become
temporarily unavailable. Under normal circumstances the availability of the GPS is necessary to
synchronize CDMA BTS clocks to GPS time prior to being enabled. BTS’s operating with
FEATURE 9336 enabled (non-synchronous mode) will demonstrate a reduced level of call quality
compared to those that are synchronized to GPS time. Impacts to call quality when feature 9336 is
active will include (but are not limited to): the inability to support soft and hard handoff’s,
increased system noise near the handoff region (reducing maximum number of supported calls),
rogue pilots, etc. Because of the problems associated with operating a BTS in the non-synchronous
mode, feature 9336 use should be reserved for emergency situations as a means to provide a limited
9 9 Inter-System
Interference (ISI)
Table of Contents
9.4 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 - 40
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• Spectrum clearing, when deploying a CDMA system into an existing frequency band, by
clearing spectrum that was formerly used by other cellular technologies. Examples of
such deployments could include the clearance of AMPS analog spectrum for use with
co-existing 800 MHz CDMA systems and the clearance of TACS analog spectrum for
use with co-existing 900 MHz CDMA systems.
Associated with each of the above deployment options is the potential for interference between the
system being introduced and the currently existing, co-located cellular system(s). The severity of
this interference, and its impact, will depend mainly on how frequency spectrum is assigned to all
cellular systems that are required to co-exist in a given coverage area. The interference can be
divided basically into two categories that will be referred to here as intra-band and inter-band.
Intra-band interference corresponds to interference between co-existing systems that share the
same cellular frequency band allocations, such as AMPS and TACS. Inter-band interference
corresponds to interference between co-existing systems that utilize multiple cellular frequency
band allocations, such as:
Many cellular operators are installing, or have already installed, CDMA digital technology that
allows them to continue the process of expanding capacity in their currently existing AMPS, or
TACS, analog markets. These cellular operators may now be at the point where they want to install,
or are installing, the next phase of CDMA, namely IS-2000 1X technology having the same
spectral bandwidth of 1.23/1.25 MHz, but twice as many Walsh codes (128). For purposes of this
next step in technology migration, which enables greater throughput and data services, there are no
material differences between 2G and 3G-1X that would have to be dealt with for Intra-band and
Inter-band interference issues. In these markets, both CDMA and the currently operating analog
system must exist simultaneously and in some cases even share the same spectrum. As a result, in
addition to the possibility of increased blocking on the existing analog cellular system (due to
spectrum clearing), there exists the potential threat of inter-system interference between the co-
existing, co-frequency-band-allocation systems. This interference, referred to as intra-band inter-
system interference, exists typically between the base stations of one system and the subscriber
stations of the other, co-existing system (Figure 9-1).
Here, the interference arises as a consequence of the near-far effect, an example being created when
a nearby base station transmitter, serving one system, captures the receiver of a subscriber unit
being served by another system base station that is significantly farther away. The closer,
interfering base station transmitter is able to capture the victim subscriber unit receiver because of
the small propagation path loss between them. This interference phenomenon can have a
significantly greater effect on a new system being deployed with fewer cell sites than the other pre-
existing, co-band system. This is because the new system, with its fewer cell sites, creates greater
differences in the signal levels seen either in the Forward (downlink), or Reverse (uplink), RF
channels. Practically, this situation can be avoided by system planners if they strive to keep the cell
site ratio (B:A) as close to (1:1) as possible, where "B" indicates the number of new cell sites, for
system B, relative to "A," the number of old cell sites already existing in system A. Another
important aspect regarding the relationship between B and A is that the cell site base stations for
system A and B should be located very near each other, or co-located, as close as possible.
An example of an unbalanced situation, reflecting a cell site (B:A) ratio of (1:3), is depicted in
Figure 9-2. Here, a subscriber being served by system B could potentially be threatened with intra-
band interference to its receiver from cell site transmitters in the co-existing system A. System B
subscribers could potentially experience their worst operating performance at the edges of cells in
system B that lie close to the centers of the cells from system A.
System A
X X
X
X X X
X X
X X X
X X
X X X
X X
X X X
X
X X
X - Potential Interference
Areas
Depending on the actual overlay of the two co-existing systems, there exists the potential for four
different interference scenarios:
The above four scenarios are discussed in more detail in the following four sub-sections, using a
co-located AMPS and 800 MHz CDMA system as an example. Note that intra-band interference
is not a problem unique to CDMA, as it is a radio-systems issue. The same issues will occur with
a GSM system if overlaid on a TACS system in the same frequency band. All technologies have
the same set of contributing factors. Some key variables for the interfering transmitter are: ERP
(Effective Radiated Power, which is RF power directed towards the receive antenna), transmit
nominal power, and sideband emissions. A few key variables for a potential victim receiver are:
IM (Intermodulation) intercept point of the receiver, filter protection available, and gain of the
receive antenna system.
After the potential for interference has been assessed, corrective action can then be taken, if
required. Corrective action can be in the form of improving the filtering at the site. Or, it can be
related to any of the other variables noted above: improving Tx sideband emissions, adjusting ERP,
doing frequency planning, etc. In all cases, the potential for interference, and the best corrective
action, is site specific. There is no generic solution, so site engineering is required.
Recommendations for corrective action are addressed, where appropriate, in later paragraphs of
this section.
There are several potential inter-system interference mechanisms, but the dominant problem is an
interference product resulting from strong AMPS base station signals mixing in the front end of a
subscriber receiver, thereby creating unwanted signals that land inside the CDMA subscriber
receiver passband. The subscriber receiver intermodulation (IM) performance is essentially
identical for all technologies.
In order for this phenomena to occur, three things must happen simultaneously. First, the CDMA
subscriber unit must be physically close to the AMPS base transmitter site. Second, the AMPS
transmitter frequencies must create a third order mix. Third, the desired CDMA received signal
must be relatively weak.
Anything that can be done to overcome or inhibit any combination of the above mechanisms will
help in preventing an interference problem. For example, one of the easiest ways to prevent this
particular interference problem is to make sure that there is a CDMA base station located at each
one of the AMPS transmitter sites. Such a configuration was described earlier and is termed a (1:1)
one-to-one overlay. In this arrangement, the undesired mix products will still occur, but because
the desired CDMA signal from the local transmitter is always stronger than the mix products, the
problem is prevented. Hence, the first and third mechanisms are no longer contributors.
Usually, the problem will appear when an operator tries to deploy CDMA at fewer sites than every
AMPS site (usually during the initial phase of introducing CDMA into a market). The operator may
try to put CDMA base stations into fewer AMPS sites, to save initial system deployment costs. If
this ratio is about one-third of the AMPS sites, then it would be called a (1:3) overlay, reflecting
the (B:A) ratio. (See Figure 9-3).
In this case, it would be possible for the CDMA subscribers to be exposed to strong local AMPS
signals while trying to receive a weak CDMA signal from a great distance, because two-thirds of
the AMPS sites would lack a co-located CDMA transmitter. In fact, if the system is laid out on a
regular grid, with a (1:3) overlay, the AMPS base sites that lack co-located CDMA transmitters
will be exactly halfway between the CDMA base sites, thereby allowing the areas having the
weakest CDMA signals to have AMPS base sites located there.
It should be noted that a (1:1) deployment is a “fix” for reducing the interference between an
operator’s AMPS base stations and his own CDMA system, but this does not totally eliminate the
interference. There is still the possibility that a CDMA subscriber could experience interference
when in the vicinity of the other operator’s cell site in an area having a weak CDMA desired signal.
As a practical matter, high traffic areas will attract cells from both operators. As a result, the high
traffic areas will usually have CDMA base stations deployed in the same area which will produce
a strong CDMA signal in order to overcome these problems.
When there is an AMPS site without a co-located CDMA site, a subscriber may or may not
experience noticeable interference, depending on the number, level, and frequency of the AMPS
carriers, and the CDMA signal strength itself. Using a few simplifying assumptions, Figure 9-4
shows the relationship between the signal levels at which the interference will appear for an un-
modified IS-98 subscriber receiver, and for a subscriber receiver having either of two proposed
subscriber changes, namely a switchable attenuator, or a continuously variable attenuator.
-20
Required CDMA Signal Strength
-40
IS-98 Spec Level
-80
-100
-120
-45 -40 -35 -30 -25 -20 -15 -10 -5
As can be seen from the graph, the interference can be mitigated by reducing the AMPS signal
level, or by raising the CDMA signal level. The most likely way of increasing CDMA signal levels
would be to add one or more CDMA transmitter sites in the immediate vicinity of any potential
interfering AMPS transmitters.
Recently, a specification change for IS-98A has been proposed that addresses the need for
improved IM performance in the subscriber receiver. As the graph above clearly shows, the
proposed change allows for a wider front end dynamic range in the subscriber, either by utilizing
a variable attenuator, or a switchable attenuator, in the front end. The use of either of these
attenuators introduces approximately 20 dB of loss so that the subscriber can operate in a strong
signal environment (for example, if the received CDMA signal strength were greater than -79
dBm). The operator will still have to manage a minimum CDMA signal strength in accordance
with the anticipated interference levels that may be potentially encountered.
As for the potential for inter-system interference at 1900 MHz, this type of interference is not
expected to be a serious issue because the power levels are generally lower, the path losses are
higher, and the environment will not be one of an unbalanced overlay. Still, there may have to be
some engineering to provide interference control at the 1900 MHz band edges, where two different
operators meet on different site grids. This situation will not be unique to CDMA, as the subscriber
receiver intermodulation performance is essentially identical for all technologies.
In summary, the most desirable way to design a CDMA overlay is as a (1:1) deployment, although
it will still be necessary to review AMPS site placement in weaker CDMA coverage areas. If the
operator chooses to initially implement a lower density deployment, with something less than a
(1:1) deployment, then the design of both the A and B sides will need to be very carefully
engineered for interference control. If a lower initial cost is desired, then a system utilizing a (1:1)
deployment with omni cells is preferred over a system using (1:3) or higher deployments. This
would result in a system with the same number of sectors deployed, but not susceptible to the same
amount of system interference.
Narrowband AMPS subscribers are not viewed as posing a problem to CDMA cells. Out-of-band
AMPS subscriber Tx sideband emissions are not significant across the recommended 9 AMPS
channels comprising the CDMA guard band. In-band AMPS subscribers must be geographically
separated by a guard zone of sufficient path loss.
Although CDMA cells will have a lower Tx ERP, CDMA cells may still interfere with AMPS
subscribers that are far from an AMPS cell. The interference is caused by CDMA cell Tx sideband
emissions, which do not roll off as fast as those associated with a narrow band AMPS transmitter.
Note that this should not cause the same amount of system interference since the CDMA sites will
be co-located with the same AMPS system sites.
The CDMA subscriber Tx power is typically low, so low sideband emission power results.
However, a (1:3) overlay will significantly increase the probability of interference from CDMA
subscribers because all AMPS-only cells are located near the edge of the CDMA cells. CDMA
users near the AMPS sites will be at the higher power levels and offset in frequency by as little as
900 kHz from the center of the CDMA channel. Depending on the path loss from the CDMA
subscribers to the AMPS Rx cell sites, the CDMA subscribers might cause interference to the
AMPS receive signal.
Some cellular system operators who want to introduce digital cellular technologies into their
existing systems may prefer, instead, to deploy such digital systems like CDMA in an alternate
frequency band previously not allocated for cellular use in a given country. Examples of this type
of deployment strategy can involve the following:
• Use of the AMPS band for CDMA, in an area already using TACS or GSM spectrum
• Use of the TACS band for CDMA, in an area already using AMPS spectrum
• Use of the PCS 1900 band for CDMA, in an area already using DCS 1800 spectrum
While implementing any one of the above examples might allow a new cellular system to be
deployed more readily (i.e. with little to no effect on the traffic performance of the existing analog
systems), there may be an increased threat of inter-system interference depending on what
operating spectrum is being used for the new and the existing cellular systems. To say this another
way, inter-band interference typically occurs between the base stations and/or between the
subscriber stations of two or more co-existing systems (see Figure 9-5), unlike the aforementioned
intra-band interference.
Thus, while inter-band interference is a radio-systems issue that is not unique to a particular
cellular technology and has been dealt with previously, what may be different with current
deployments is how eager some operators are in trying to co-locate multiple-band cellular
technologies affected by these issues. Such ambitious system deployments result in:
1. Less guard band than is recommended between two systems that must co-exist
2. Smaller antenna separation (along with less isolation between systems), due to high
system densities
3. More aggressive antenna sharing requirements between different technologies through
the use of combiners, duplexers, etc.
BS Tx / Sub. Rx Sub. Tx / BS Rx
Standards
Cellular Band Operating Band Operating Band
Body
(MHz) (MHz)
In the 800/900 MHz band, extended bands EAMPS and ETACS overlap by as much as 22 MHz.
The end of the standard AMPS band at 890 MHz is also the beginning of the standard TACS band
(Figure 9-6).
872
880
890
905
915
824
825
835
845
849
ETACS A
ETACS B
Reserved/
TACS A/
TACS B/
AMPS A
AMPS B
BASE Rx/
TACS
GSM
GSM
GSM
Subscriber Tx
A” A’ B’
891.5
942.5
869
870
880
890
894
917
925
935
950
960
ETACS A
ETACS B
Reserved/
TACS A/
TACS B/
AMPS A
AMPS B
BASE Tx/
TACS
GSM
GSM
GSM
Subscriber Rx
A” A’ B’
Likewise, the DCS 1800 band overlaps the PCS 1900 spectrum by as much as 30 MHz (see
Figure 9-7).
1785
1850
1915
PCS 1900 BASE Rx/
DCS 1800 Subscriber Tx
A B C
D EF G
1805
1880
1930
1995
BASE Tx/ PCS 1900
Subscriber Rx DCS 1800
A B C
D EF G
Table 9-2 provides a summary of the various interference scenarios that can result when attempting
to utilize these different spectrum allocations.
Interferer Victim
AMPS-Band TACS/GSM-Band
Base Station Base Station
TACS/GSM-Band AMPS-Band
Subscriber Station Subscriber Station
DCS 1800-Band PCS 1900-Band
Base Station Base Station
PCS 1900-Band DCS 1800-Band
Subscriber Station Subscriber Station
While the use of overlapping operating bands in co-existing systems would be unacceptable due to
the threat of co-channel interference, use of adjacent operating bands has already been
implemented in or is being considered for some markets. Due to the typical wide band nature of
cellular base station and subscriber station receivers, inter-system interference is also a threat in
this scenario.
There are several options available to help prevent the occurrence of inter-band interference
between base stations. Some examples include:
1) Providing ample guard band between the co-existing systems. In this case, base station
transmitter equipment specifications for the interfering system and base station receiver equipment
specifications for the victim system would provide enough protection from potential interference.
2) Separating interfering and victim base station antennas as much as possible, both horizontally
and vertically, to provide the necessary isolation.
3) Providing adequate filtering of the interfering base station transmitter and/or the victim base
station receiver to achieve additional isolation.
4) Modifying the frequency plan of either the interfering system or the affected system, on a site-
by-site basis, to minimize the possibility of interference.
Step 1.
The first step in the analysis procedure is to determine the minimum isolation required between co-
existing base stations when just considering the relevant equipment specifications. The minimum
required isolation between an interfering base station Tx antenna and a victim base station Rx
antenna can be approximated by using some simple calculations that take into account various
transmitter and receiver specifications (as provided in Section 9.2.2.1.3), antenna gains, free space
Which calculations to use for a given interference analysis will depend on what type of interference
is possible and where the potential interference may fall with respect to the victim base station
receiver’s operating spectrum. For example, if it is determined that no interfering Tx carrier
frequencies fall within or near the wide passband of a victim cellular receiver, then the receiver
desensitization calculation may not be required. Furthermore;
• IF an interfering system utilizes just a single Tx carrier (as is possible with CDMA),
AND
• IF there are no other interfering Tx carriers present to mix with it to create IM products
potentially falling within a victim receiver’s passband
• THEN the transmitter IM and the receiver IM calculations would NOT be required1
Step 2.
The second step in the analysis procedure is to take the largest isolation requirement and determine
if it is reasonable to achieve it solely through antenna separation. Required antenna separation for
a given isolation value can be approximated using free space path loss equations:
Where:
SH Minimum horizontal antenna separation, in meters, for use with non-co-located
sites
SV Minimum vertical antenna separation, in meters, for use with co-located sites2
1. Where appropriate, it is recommended that consideration be given to the possibility for future expansion
of the interfering system (resulting in the allocation of additional Tx carriers) when determining isolation
requirements in order to prevent any future interference scenarios.
2. NOTE: The vertical spacing decoupling equation (Equation 9-2) provides a rough estimate of required
antenna separation and does not consider near-field effects that can alter the actual isolation provided. It is
strongly recommended that appropriate on-site testing be completed to verify the actual isolation achieved by
vertical antenna separation.
If it turns out that the required antenna separation requirements are not reasonable between the co-
existing systems (e.g. too large), then appropriate filtering may be considered to provide the
remaining isolation. The amount of isolation provided from filtering will depend on the amount of
guard band available between interfering systems and the amount of attenuation needed in the
filter’s stop-band. The transmitter sideband emission and transmitter IM isolation calculations are
to be used with respect to any Tx filter requirements. The receiver desensitization and receiver IM
isolation calculations are to be used with respect to any Rx filter requirements.
If required, filter quantities should be ordered as follows. As a guide, order one set of Tx filters per
interfering base station, where the quantity of filters in a set would depend on the number of
interfering base station antennas present at the site. If Rx filters are required, order one set of Rx
filters for each affected base station that is either co-located or directly adjacent to an interfering
base station. Note that the need for Rx filters at a given affected base station may need to be
determined on a site-by-site basis considering actual antenna separation distances and the amount
of path loss between them.
Inter-system interference scenarios addressed in this section are the result of several common
interference mechanisms that can occur either in the transmitter or receiver of a radio
communications system. The following radio equipment interference mechanisms are discussed
below:
Transmitter sideband emissions occur primarily in either the speech amplifier, oscillator and/or
modulator of the transmitter. Sideband emissions are created by the infinite bandwidth
characteristics of white noise modulating the Tx carrier. Most transmitter equipment specifications
require a minimum of 60 dB attenuation of sideband emissions with respect the mean power level
of the transmitter (see Figure 9-8).
0
-10
-20
-30
-40 60 dB
-50
-60
-70
When sideband emissions fall within the passband of a sensitive communications receiver, it
creates interference. This can happen when transmitters operate near receivers with adjacent
passbands. The effect on the victim receiver is that of a reduction to the usable sensitivity for
desired channel performance. With this type of interference, no particular “sound” is created at the
receiver, just receiver noise (see Figure 9-9).
Isideband (dBm)
FTx FRx
Emission profiles vary between different transmitter designs but, in general, have an energy
(depicted in the above figure as Isideband), that is some specified level below the carrier’s power
level, (Iout). Table 9-4 and Table 9-5 in the following section provide Tx sideband emission
specifications for relevant technologies, listed both as defined values and as a function of Iout. The
transmit sideband emission level must be received at the victim base station receiver below a
maximum allowable interference level (VINT), which results in a certain tolerable degradation in
receiver sensitivity. For example, most cellular/PCS receiver equipment specifications allow for a
maximum degradation in receiver sensitivity of 3 dB, which corresponds to a maximum on-
channel interference level equal to that of the receiver’s thermal noise floor (kTBF). In this case,
interfering transmit sideband emission levels would then need to be received by a victim receiver
In addition to Isideband and VINT, the following must also be accounted for in order to determine the
isolation required to avoid sideband emissions interference to a victim base station receiver:
• Interfering base station feeder loss (Ifeeder) and antenna gain (Iant, which is equal to 0
dBi if co-located w/victim base station antenna)
• Victim base station antenna gain (Vant, which is equal to 0 dBi if co-located with
interfering base station antenna), feeder loss (Vfeeder), receiver multicoupler/preselector
loss/gain3 (VRMC), receiver bandwidth adjustment factor4 (VBWA), and receiver
sensitivity (Vsens)
The following relationship shows the minimum isolation, PLmin,Sideband, required between an
interfering base station transmit antenna and a victim base station receive antenna to prevent
sideband emission interference:
PL min, Sideband ( dB ) = I sideband ( dBm ⁄ 30kHz ) – I feeder ( dB ) + I ant ( dBi ) + V ant ( dBi )
2. Intermodulation (IM)
Intermodulation, or IM, can occur anywhere in the transmission path from the transmitter to the
receiver. IM is caused by non-linearities in transmitter circuitry, receiver circuitry, and/or along the
RF path from the transmitter to the receiver. Severity of the IM process will depend on the number
of IM products involved, their signal strengths, and bandwidths.
IM can be detected as either a distinctive sound or as noise. For example, with 3rd-order, FM-
modulated IM, an analog receiver hears two voices, one loud and distorted and the other normal.
On the other hand, IM produced by two or more signals, where at least one of them is a CDMA
signal, would be detected by the user of analog receiver as noise.
3. The amount of available multicoupler/preselector loss (VRMC) will depend on the amount of guardband
between the two systems. It is expected that for most cases this loss will be minimal considering the very
gradual roll-off attributed to these normally wideband filters. In fact, some multicouplers and preselectors
contain LNA’s that may have gain rather than loss in-band. In those cases, VRMC would have a negative value.
4. The VBWA term is necessary to adjust the sideband emission power specification, Isideband (listed in Table
9-4 and Table 9-5 in units of dBm/30 kHz), to that of the channel bandwidth of the victim receiver. For
example, VBWA for a CDMA receiver would be equal to 10*log(1228800/30000) = 16.12 dB.
• Transmitter IM
• Receiver IM
• External IM
While the three categories of IM are distinctly separate matters, which are subject to different
engineering considerations, the frequency relationships applying to IM products are common.
Frequencies of IM products can be defined in the following manner:
For example, a 3rd order IM signal centered at frequency C could result from the combination of
the 2nd harmonic of a signal whose fundamental center frequency is A and a second signal whose
fundamental center frequency is B:
Some examples of 2nd through 5th order intermodulation products are provided in Table 9-3.
Some generalizations can be made concerning IM products. First, the signal strength level of
harmonic decreases rapidly with its order (e.g. 3A would be weaker than 2A). Second, higher order
IM products may require too many different transmitters to be keyed simultaneously (e.g.
A+B+C+2D+2E) for the IM to occur. Lastly, even order IM products almost always fall out of the
local systems’ operating bands. For these reasons, the third and fifth order intermodulation
products are the more prevalent and therefore more prone to cause IM interference.
• Multi-carrier LPA IM
• Transmitter-to-Transmitter IM
Transmitter-to-Transmitter IM can occur inside the transmitter circuitry if two or more transmitters
are installed closely together (and thus offering low isolation). Conducted transmit intermodulation
is the effect of frequency mixing in the final amplifier stage of one interfering carrier transmitter
with the outputs of others. The non-linear final amplifier circuit generates the IM and the antenna
radiates it. The result is that unwanted channel power may be generated in the interfering
transmitter and land in the victim receiver’s Rx band (see Figure 9-10).
When transmitter IM products fall within the passband of a sensitive communications receiver, it
creates interference. The effect on the victim receiver is that of a reduction to the usable sensitivity
for desired channel performance.
Reradiated signals are subject to a mixing loss in the IM-producing transmitter, which can be
defined by the dB difference between the power of the incoming signal and outgoing
Power levels of potential transmitter IM products vary between different transmitter designs but,
in general, have an energy (depicted in Figure 9-11 as IIM), that is some specified level below the
Tx carrier’s power level (Iout).
IIM (dBm)
X X =
As with transmitter sideband emissions, all transmitter IM products falling within a victim base
station receiver’s passband must be received at a level below a maximum allowable interference
level (VINT), which results in a certain tolerable degradation in receiver sensitivity. Table 9-4 and
Table 9-5 in the following section provide Tx IM specifications for relevant technologies, listed
both as defined values and as a function of Iout.
In addition to IIM and VINT, the following must also be accounted for in the calculation:
• Interfering base station feeder loss (Ifeeder) and antenna gain (Iant, which is equal to 0
dBi if co-located w/victim base station antenna)
• Victim base station antenna gain (Vant, which is equal to 0 dBi if co-located with
interfering base station antenna), feeder loss (Vfeeder), and receiver multicoupler/
preselector loss/gain (VRMC)
The following relationship shows the minimum isolation, PLmin,TxIM, required between an
interfering base station transmit antenna and a victim base station receive antenna to prevent Tx
IM interference:
PL min, TxIM ( dB ) = I IM ( dBm ) – I feeder ( dB ) + I ant ( dBi ) + V ant ( dBi ) – V feeder ( dB ) – V RMC ( dB ) – V INT ( dBm ) [EQ 9-4]
Receiver IM occurs when two or more off-channel signals enter and drive a receiver’s RF amplifier
or 1st mixer stage. The nonlinear nature of the electronic devices commonly used in receiver
If one or more of the victim receiver-produced IM products falls on or near a frequency to which
the victim receiver is tuned, the effect is that the product will be an interferer to the desired receive
channel. Since the receiver is most sensitive to this in-band product, the IM must be reduced at this
point by signal level reduction of one or more of the mixing frequencies.
Tolerance to receiver IM will vary between different receiver designs. In general, performance will
be limited by a maximum allowable interfering (e.g. receiver IM-producing) signal level as
received at the victim receiver (depicted in Figure 9-13 as VIMR), which is some specified level
above the receiver’s Rx sensitivity, Vsens.
A given receiver’s ability to combat receiver IM, is quantified by its intermodulation rejection
specification, or IMR. To prevent receiver IM, interfering signal(s) must be received at a signal
strength lower than a level as determined by the receiver’s reference sensitivity and IMR
specifications:
Table 9-6, Table 9-7 and Table 9-8 in the following section provide receiver IM specifications for
relevant technologies, listed both as a defined value and as a function of Vsens.
In addition to VIMR and Vsens, the following must be taken into account in the calculation:
• Interfering BS RF equipment Tx output (top of frame) power level (Iout), feeder loss
(Ifeeder), and antenna gain (Iant, which is equal to 0 dBi if co-located w/victim base
station antenna)
• Victim base station antenna gain (Vant, which is equal to 0 dBi if co-located with
interfering base station antenna), feeder loss (Vfeeder), and receiver multicoupler/
preselector loss/gain (VRMC)
The following relationship shows the minimum isolation, PLmin,RxIM, required between an
interfering base station transmit antenna and a victim base station receive antenna to prevent
receiver IM:
PL min, RxIM ( dB ) = I out ( dBm ) – I feeder ( dB ) + I + V ant ( dBi ) – V feeder ( dB ) – V RMC ( dB ) – V IMR ( dBm ) [EQ 9-5]
ant ( dBi )
The resulting isolation requirements can be achieved through both antenna separation and filtering
of the interfering transmitter(s) and affected receiver(s).
External IM is created by passive, non-linear elements in the transmission path from transmitter to
receiver such as antennas, combiners, duplexers, cables, connectors, etc. and other elements in the
immediate vicinity of the transmission line, such as guy wires, tower joints, anchor rods, etc. Here,
signals are picked up by these elements and reradiated as IM products (see Figure 9-14).
Tx1 AN
ELECTRICALLY
NON-LINEAR IM
OBJECT INTERFERENCE
Rx
Tx2
Locating the actual source of external IM may be very difficult. There are really no preventative
measures with respect to external IM other than to conduct thorough periodic maintenance of
elements in and around the transmission path. However, while low-order external IM created in the
antenna path system can easily cause interference to base station receivers that share the same
antenna, resulting IM signal levels are usually low enough that they won’t create interference to
subscribers or other base stations.
3. Receiver Desensitization
Receiver desensitization, also known as receiver blocking, is usually caused by strong off-channel
interfering signals that fall within or just outside the often wide passband of the receiver. If the
interference is strong enough, bias conditions can be changed on certain receiver stages, causing
them to lose gain. This makes the receiver less sensitive to any desired signals. The ability of a
receiver to receive an intended signal in the presence of these interfering signals is measured by its
desensitization or blocking level specification. Associated with this level, is an allowable
degradation in Rx sensitivity, usually 3 dB.
While its negative effects might not be immediately noticeable in a desired received signal,
receiver desensitization could result in an increased susceptibility to fading and a reduction in
channel capacity. Example causes of receiver desensitization are interfering Tx carrier power level,
transmitter sideband emissions and transmitter IM products.
Desensitization levels vary between different receiver designs but, in general, have an energy
(depicted in Figure 9-15 as Vblock), that is some specified level above the receiver’s Rx sensitivity,
Vsens. Off-channel interfering signal(s) must be received at the victim base station receiver at a
level below Vblock.
The Rx sensitivity level, Vsens, is a certain number of dB above or below the receiver’s thermal
noise floor (kTBF) and is a function of the receiver’s required S/N ratio (Eb/No, C/I, etc.) and
processing gain (CDMA only). Processing gain is equivalent to the receiver’s channel bandwidth
in Hz (B) divided by the Rx data rate in Hz (R). An example calculation for 8 kbps CDMA with
an Eb/No (S/N) of 7 dB and a receiver noise figure (F) of 6 dB is provided below:
Table 9-6, Table 9-7 and Table 9-8 in the following section provide desensitization specifications
for relevant technologies, listed both as defined values and as a function of Vsens.
In addition to Vblock and Vsens, the following must also be accounted for in the calculation:
• Interfering BS RF equipment Tx output (top of frame) power level (Iout), feeder loss
(Ifeeder), and antenna gain (Iant, which is equal to 0 dBi if co-located w/victim base
station antenna)
• Victim base station antenna gain (Vant, which is equal to 0 dBi if co-located with
interfering base station antenna), feeder loss (Vfeeder), and receiver multicoupler/
preselector loss/gain (VRMC)
The following relationship shows the minimum isolation, PLmin,Desense, required between an
interfering base station transmit antenna and a victim base station receive antenna to prevent
receiver desensitization as a result of the presence of strong off-channel signals:
PL min, Desense ( dB ) = I out ( dBm ) – I feeder ( dB ) + I + V ant ( dBi ) – V feeder ( dB ) – V RMC ( dB ) – V block ( dBm ) [EQ 9-6]
ant ( dBi )
Isideband, IIM, Vblock and VIMR will vary with equipment type. Typical values, based on standard
equipment specifications are provided in Table 9-4 through Table 9-8 below.
Table 9-5: DCS 1800 Base Station Transmitter Specifications (GSM 05.05)
> -50
(for signals falling within TACS A band)
TACS > (Vsens + 65)
> -23
(for signals falling within TACS B band)
900 MHz GSM > - 43 (See Tables 3-6 and 3-7)
(GSM 5.05)
> (Vsens + 50)
900 MHz CDMA @ 0.9 > |f-fc| > 0.75 MHz
(China IS-97A) > (Vsens + 72)
> (Vsens + 87)
@ |f-fc| > 0.9 MHz
> (Vsens + 50)
PCS 1900 CDMA @ 0.9 > |f-fc| > 0.75 MHz
(J-STD-019) > (Vsens + 72)
> (Vsens + 87)
@ |f-fc| > 0.9 MHz
Table 9-7: In-Band GSM Base Station Receiver Blocking Specifications (GSM 05.05)
Offset Range
Maximum Receiver
From Intended Rx
Desense/Blocking Level, Vblock
Carrier
(dBm)
(kHz)
Table 9-8: Out-of-Band GSM Base Station Receiver Blocking Specifications (GSM 05.05)
Maximum Receiver
Frequency Band
Desense/Blocking Level, Vblock
(MHz)
(dBm)
The severity of interference between subscribers will depend on the subscriber densities of each
system involved and the distances between them, because both the interfering transmitters and the
affected receivers are moving with respect to one another and are in random positions relative to
one another. The likelihood of experiencing interference will also depend on the power control
capabilities of the interfering subscriber transmitter(s) and the affected subscriber station
receiver(s).
As Table 9-9 illustrates, interference between subscriber stations is generally less of a problem than
between base stations.
Antenna
Separation Variable Fixed
Distance
# of Distinct Tx
Frequencies- 1 per subscriber > 1 per
FDMA/TDMA (narrow-band carrier) Base Station
Systems
Since intermodulation requires two or more interfering signals at precise frequency spacing, the
probability of any resulting product causing interference could therefore be very low. Therefore, it
Unfortunately, there is little that can be done to prevent Subscriber-to-Subscriber interference other
than to address the potential for interference in the actual physical design of both the interfering
and victim subscriber units so that sufficient isolation is provided. This, however, seems to be an
unlikely possibility as subscriber performance requirements (again, generated by distinctly
different standards bodies: ANSI/EIA/TIA and ETSI) typically do not address inter-band
interference issues of this nature.
Note that frequency plans could also be modified to help prevent interference in certain areas,
depending on the technologies involved. However, in high-traffic areas which are of the most
concern, frequency plan flexibility may be limited.
PCS license requirements essentially dictate that any PCS system may not cause any harmful
interference into incumbent microwave systems. Detailed interference analysis is needed to
determine the interference potential of PCS into microwave systems.
• Coordination Distances
• Propagation Models
• Power Aggregation
• Microwave Receiver Interference Criteria
These considerations must incorporate interference from all system sources and subscriber units.
As a result, the term PCS transmitter can refer to a base station or a subscriber unit. Please refer to
the Bulletin for more information. The following sections will summarize the four main
considerations.
It is necessary to determine a search area around each PCS transmitter within which the process of
interference analysis needs to be undertaken. This is known as the Coordination Distance. The
primary factors governing the coordination distance for a PCS transmitter are its antenna height
and EIRP. In general, the PCS base station transmitter will define the coordination distance. The
minimum Coordination Distance is calculated by using the following formula set:
D L = 10 -----------------------
51.87 + P
[EQ 9-8]
20
65 + 1.85D LT + P
D D = ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [EQ 9-9]
0.106 log ( D L T + 33.6 ) + 0.899
– 19.9 + 0.12 × D LT + P-
D S = ----------------------------------------------------------
–5
[EQ 9-10]
0.1156 – 5.6 ×10 × D L T
Where:
D Coordination distance
P EIRP (dBm)
HT Transmitting antenna height above average terrain (m)
The following graph shows the coordination distances for a PCS transmitter with 30 and 90 meter
antenna heights, over a wide range of EIRP values.
As can be seen, the distances involved are substantial and may even extend beyond the MTA/BTA
(Major Trading Area / Basic Trading Area) license boundary.
To determine the level of interference into a microwave system, it is necessary to calculate the
signal strength of the PCS signal at the microwave receiver. In traditional microwave systems, the
free space path loss calculation is used in link planning. However, with the lower antenna heights
of PCS transmitters, the effects of local clutter must be considered. For this reason, the Hata model
with suburban correction is used as the base propagation model. In addition, because of the large
coordination distances, propagation beyond the transhorizon (the point at which line of sight
communications between two fixed antennas is no longer possible) must also be considered. The
forward scatter loss model is used for propagation beyond the horizon.
The Hata and forward scatter loss models are used for both the subscriber unit and the base station
path loss calculations. However, different correction factors are set to account for differences in
antenna heights.
The free space path loss calculation is represented by the following equation:
Where:
d distance (km)
f frequency (MHz)
Hata Model
The Hata based propagation model (suburban area) is represented by the following equation:
2
L pcs = 69.5 + 26.16 log ( f ) – 13.82 log ( h mw ) + [ 44.9 – 6.55 log ( h mw ) ] log ( d ) – α ( h pcs ) – 2 log ------
f
28
– 5.4 [EQ 9-13]
Where:
Lpcs Loss between PCS and MW antennas using the modified Hata model.
The actual distance to the transhorizon is calculated by using the smooth earth transition method,
which specifies the receiver and transmitter antenna heights above the average elevation along the
path. Assuming no clutter or terrain obstacles, the smooth earth transition distance (transhorizon)
is represented by the following formula:
Where:
dh Transition distance (km)
The recommended equation for forward scatter loss, adjusted for hourly median loss, is as follows:
f Frequency (MHz)
(------------------
d – d h )-
θ ( milliradian )
8.5
dh Smooth Earth Transition Distance
Where:
θd -
H -----------
4000
–3
h 1.063 ×10 × θ2
γ 0.27
The same basic Hata model is used for path loss calculations for both subscriber unit and base
station sources. However, a correction set is applied to account for differences in antenna heights.
The Hata model from above and the following correction factors should be used for microwave
antennas below 180 m and PCS antennas below 60 m.
For PCS antennas below 9 m (ground level subscriber unit sources), the following Hata suburban
correction factor equation is used:
α ( h pcs ) = [ 1.1 log ( f ) – 0.7 ] × h pcs – [ 1.56 log ( f ) – 0.8 ] [EQ 9-17]
For PCS antennas between 9 m and 60 m (base station sources), the Hata large city correction
factor equation is as follows:
2
α ( h pcs ) = 3.2 × [ log ( 11.75 × h pcs ) ] – 4.97 [EQ 9-18]
Outside of these ranges, the free space path loss formula should be used to predict the propagation
loss to the transhorizon. The following graph shows the relationship between the three propagation
models at both PCS downlink frequencies. As previously mentioned, the local clutter has the effect
of increasing the propagation loss above that of free space path loss. This in turn results in the
transition from the Hata model to the troposcatter model occurring further out than the transhorizon
distance.
Transition Point
Transition Point
It is possible for this situation that the subscriber unit’s interfering signal will be stronger than the
aggregated powers of many base station transmissions at the microwave receiver. In urban
environments, the probability of an elevated subscriber unit is greater. Thus, the impact of the
subscriber unit interference sources on the microwave receiver will be more substantial than in
residential areas.
TSB-10-F, Section F-4.4.1.1 provides statistical adjustments to the mean Hata suburban model to
account for the above effects.
When considering the interference level into a microwave receiver, the combined effect of all the
PCS transmitters in a service area must be considered. The aggregated power will be a function of
the total number of PCS transmitters (both base station and subscriber units) included within the
service area.
Angle Theta
ic
M
Microwave Site
Statistical methods for aggregating the PCS transmitter powers may be used to determine the
expected spatial PCS distribution within the service area. As a default, uniform distribution of
powers should be assumed. From the specified distribution, the aggregated interference signal can
be determined by using either analytical techniques or Monte Carlo simulation methods.
Three interference criteria are used to determine if a PCS system will interfere with microwave:
1. Carrier to Interference
2. Threshold Degradation
3. Reliability
All three forms of interference criteria should be assessed utilizing the analysis procedure in order
to determine which microwave systems require relocation because they are vulnerable to
interference, as well as to demonstrate non-interference into other microwave systems situated
within the coordination distance.
The Carrier to Interference criteria is used to specify the threshold at which an unwanted signal will
cause harmful interference upon the wanted signal. For single frequency transmission systems, a
single C/I ratio may be quoted for the receiver. However, with multi-channel microwave systems,
the C/I criteria is expressed in terms of a curve representing the allowable C/I ratio at a specific
frequency separation of an unwanted signal from the center of the microwave carrier.
The C/I curves are calculated based on the transmit power spectral densities of both the microwave
and PCS systems, as well as the receiver selectivity of the microwave system. The power spectral
density, the number of channels, the modulation type, and the bandwidth play an important role in
determining the shape of the curve. The following graph is an example of such a curve for both
GSM and CDMA carriers as interferers.
Where:
Imax Maximum interfering signal level, dBm
Fα The difference between the operating fade margin and that required to meet the
outage objective, dB
For example, if the microwave receiver sensitivity is -80 dBm, then the co-channel interfering PCS
signal must be -90 dBm or less to avoid degrading the sensitivity of the receiver (assuming no
degradation due to fade margin).
9.3.1.4.3 Reliability
Reliability is an all-encompassing term that describes how well the microwave link guarantees
communications. In general, because link failures are mostly attributable to fading having very
short durations, the microwave link reliability measures can be expressed in either of two main
forms:
For most microwave links, the operator defines a minimum required reliability. Reliability within
a microwave link is, in fact, a function of the fade margin allocated for the link. A reduction in the
fade margin will reduce the availability and increase the outage time per year. It is not uncommon
for the microwave link to have been over-engineered, which means that the fade margin allocated
is in excess of the reliability required. Thus, a 1 dB degradation or more caused by a PCS interferer
may not always compromise the minimum required reliability.
– -------------
CFM
10
rT o ×10
T = ----------------------------------- [EQ 9-20]
Io
Where:
T Annual outage time (seconds)
Calculating Availability:
31.4496 ×106 – T
- × 100
A = --------------------------------------- [EQ 9-21]
31.4496 ×106
Where:
A Annual availability (%)
The methods and procedures required to perform microwave interference analysis are complex.
Thus, this section serves to demonstrate the fundamental aspects of the process. A full guide
detailing all scenarios is beyond the scope of this document. Therefore, it is recommended that
Bulletin TSB-10-F be used as a reference when considering any in-depth PCS to Microwave
interference analysis.
Note: Detailed analysis is best performed with the use of an automated microwave interference
analysis tool.
The relocation of microwave links degraded by the PCS systems will naturally remove the majority
of sources of microwave to PCS interference. However, it should not be assumed that no
interference will occur.
Interference to PCS base stations is best characterized as a degradation to the receiver noise figure.
The degradation to the noise figure produces an effective noise figure, which must then be used in
the link budget for the affected cell or sector. The reason interference can be treated as noise is that
the de-spreading following the receiver filtering will result in widening of the interferer’s spectrum
such that it is seen as a noise rise.
The procedure for calculating the effects of microwave interference on the PCS base stations
(BTSs) can similarly be applied in calculating the effects of microwave interference on the PCS
subscriber units. However, it must be remembered that the subscriber unit receiver has a higher
noise figure, and its selectivity is different from that of the base station. Hence, the calculations
should reflect these differences.
The nominal noise floor is set by the bandwidth of the receiver and its noise figure. For example,
the noise figure of some base station receivers is designed to be 6 dB. The corresponding noise
bandwidth of these base station receivers is approximately 1.25 MHz.
Given:
Nominal Noise = Nnom
The nominal noise is the linear sum of these three parameters, in dB:
= -174 dBm/Hz + 6 dB + 61 dB Hz
= -107 dBm
The receiver filtering and the spectrum of the interferer establishes the effective interference
power. The receiver filtering can be determined by the receiver desense curve. Since the desense
specification includes the effects of processing gain and receiver Eb/No, these must be removed as
the first step in the process. This is easy to do, as their effect is equal to the desense at 0 Hz channel
offset, which is nominally 14 dB. Define the following:
Where:
f Frequency offset from the carrier frequency in Hz
Note, the minus sign in the above equation is due to the fact that desense is a positive quantity. The
spectrum of the interfering signal must also be known,
H(f)
2
= G ( f ) df
The effective noise in the receiver's bandwidth is the sum of the nominal noise power and the
effective interference power, i.e.
= Nnom + Ieff
The ratio of the effective noise and the nominal noise is the effective noise figure:
Effective NF = NFeff
= Neff /Nnom
Expressed in dB:
Any interference in-band to the 1.25 MHz channel will directly add to the nominal noise power of
either the base station or the subscriber unit. Therefore, with a 4 dB higher receiver noise floor, the
subscriber unit is less sensitive than the base station. If it is assumed that an interfering signal 10 dB
below the receiver sensitivity will cause a 1 dB increase in the signal to noise ratio, then the
interfering signal at the subscriber unit must be 4 dB greater than that at the base station to cause
an equivalent effect.
Whether either the base station receiver or the subscriber unit receiver is more severely degraded
by a microwave interferer is determined on an individual basis. This determination includes
dependencies such as the location of the microwave transmitter relative to the PCS system
coverage area, and also the heights of both the base station antenna and the subscriber unit antenna.
9.4 References
1. ANSI IS-20A, Recommended Minimum Standards for 800-MHz Cellular Land
Stations, May, 1988, Sections 3.4.1 and 3.4.4.
2. ANSI J-STD-019, Base Station Compatibility Requirements for 1.8 to 2.0 Ghz Code
Division Multiple Access (CDMA) Personal Communications Systems, August, 1995.
3. Clapp, Scott (Motorola), “Inter-band Interference Control”, August 15, 1998.
6. Leonard, Terry (Motorola), “CDMA to GSM Base Station Interference Control”, May 5,
1997.
8. United Kingdom Total Access Communication System Mobile Station - Land Station
Compatibility Specification, Issue 4, Amendment 2, February, 1995, Sections A.7 and
A.8.
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• kTB - Thermal noise calculated from the product k x T x B, where k = Boltzmann’s constant (1.38x10-23
W/HzK), T = room temperature in degrees Kelvin (290 K), and B = bandwidth (in Hz)
• LFR - Loran Frequency Receiver card
• LMF - Local Maintenance Facility
• LNA - Low Noise Amplifier
• LORAN-C - LOng RAnge Navigation Low Frequency Broadcast
• LOS - Line-Of-Sight
• LPA - Linear Power Amplifier amplifies multiple carriers
• LTMS - Laboratory Test-oriented Mobile Station
• MAWI - Motorola Advanced Wideband Interface
II II Glossary
Table of Contents
II.1 Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . II - 3
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Active Set
The pilots associated with the Forward Traffic Channels assigned to the subscriber. It is the base
station that assigns all active set pilots to the subscribers.
Attenuator
A device for reducing the energy level of a signal without introducing distortion. Also called a pad.
Blocking
The inability of the calling subscriber to be connected to the called subscriber because either all
paths are busy, or because idle paths in the calling group cannot be accessed by idle paths in the
called group.
Candidate Set
The pilots that are not currently in the Active Set but have been received by the subscriber with
sufficient strength to indicate that the associated Forward Traffic Channels could be successfully
demodulated. As a property of the Mobile Assisted HandOff (MAHO), the subscriber promotes a
Neighbor Set or Remaining Set pilot to the Candidate Set when certain pilot strength criteria are
met, and then recommends the pilot to the base station for inclusion in the Active Set.
Channel
1) A particular member of a group, that is associated with a unique time slot. Each member is
associated with one port in the switch; either an RF channel, a land trunk, a three-party conference
circuit, or a tone signalling port. 2) A particular member of an RF group that has a unique
frequency. 3) For a TDMA air interface, it describes the unique frequency and time slot allocation
for a single call. 4) For a CDMA air interface, it describes the Walsh code assignment allowed for
the subscriber unit.
Directional Coupler
A bi-directional coupler carrying Tx and Rx RF signals to and from the antennas. It includes a port
which allows the signals to be routed to the RFDS for direct measurement of in-band forward (Tx)
signals without service interruption.
Erlang
A measure of telephone traffic intensity equivalent to the average number of simultaneous calls.
Alternatively, it is the total circuit usage in an interval of time divided by that interval. Thus, 1
Erlang equals 3600 call seconds per hour or 36 CCS per hour.
EAMPS
Extended Advanced Mobile Phone System - Refers to additional voice channels defined as an
extension to the AMPS systems. Analogous to ETACS in TACS systems.
PILOT_ARRIVAL
The pilot arrival time is the time of occurrence of the earliest arriving usable multipath component
of a pilot relative to the subscriber’s time reference.
PILOT_INC
The pilot PN sequence offset index increment is the interval between pilots, in increments of 64
chips. Its valid range is from 1 to 15. The subscriber uses this parameter in only one manner, to
determine which pilots to scan from among the Remaining set. Only valid pilots (i.e. those pilots
that are multiples of PILOT_INC) will be scanned. For the subscriber, PILOT_INC impacts only
the scanning rate applied to Remaining pilots. It accomplishes this by reducing the number of
Remaining pilots that need to be scanned.
For the base station, the effect of the PILOT_INC is different. In the base station, it is used in
properly translating pilot phase back into pilot offset index. The consequence is that the operator
may artificially increase the separation between valid time offsets. By selecting a PILOT_INC of
2, for instance, an operator chooses to limit the number of valid offsets to 256 (i.e. 0, 2, 4,..., 508,
510) instead of 512. The increased separation means that the pilot arrival must be larger before
adjacent offset ambiguity is possible and consequently the likelihood of a strong adjacent interferer
is reduced.
PILOT_PN
The pilot PN sequence offset (index), in units of 64 PN chips. It ranges from 0 to 511. Every
transmit sector will have an offset assigned to it. This parameter is set for each sector.
PILOT_PN_PHASE
The subscriber reports pilot strength and phase measurements for each active and candidate pilot
in the Pilot Strength Measurement Message (PSMM) when recommending a change in the handoff
status (i.e. mobile assisted handoff). The subscriber computes the reported PILOT_PN_PHASE as
a function of the PILOT_ARRIVAL and the PILOT_PN. The pilot arrival component represents
the time delay of the pilot relative to the time reference or, in other words, how skewed the pilot is
from the subscriber’s concept of system time. Note also that the subscriber does not identify pilots
by their offset index directly, but by their phase measurement. If the pilot arrival was larger than
32 chips (1/2 of a pilot offset or 4.8 miles), then this could undermine the ability of the base station
to properly translate pilot phase into pilot offset index (given a PILOT_INC of 1).
Remaining Set
The set of all possible pilots in the current system on the current CDMA frequency assignment,
excluding pilots in the other sets. These pilots must be integer multiples of PILOT_INC (defined
above).
SRCH_WIN_A
This parameter represents the search window size associated with the Active Set and Candidate Set
pilots. The subscriber centers the search window for each pilot around the earliest arriving usable
multipath component of the pilot. Note that in contrast to the neighbor or remaining set search
windows, the active/candidate search windows "float" with the desired signals. That is to say that
the center position of the search window is updated every scan to track the new location of the
earliest arriving multipath component.
SRCH_WIN_N, SRCH_WIN_R
These parameters represent the search window sizes associated with Neighbor Set and Remaining
Set pilots. The subscriber centers the search window for each pilot around the pilot’s PN sequence
offset using timing defined by the subscriber’s time reference.
To illustrate these relationships better, consider the following scenario. A subscriber monitors a
neighbor pilot. The neighbor search window is centered on the neighbor pilot offset. This centering
is relative based on timing derived from the time reference. When the pilot strength of a neighbor
pilot recommends promotion to the candidate set, then the search window will be tightened to the
active search window size. The active search window is sized to compensate for delay spread only
and is therefore smaller than the neighbor search window. In addition, the active search window
locks onto and tracks the candidate pilot.
System Time
All base station digital transmissions are referenced to a common CDMA system-wide time scale
that uses the Global Positioning System (GPS) time scale, which is traceable to and synchronous
with Universal Coordinated Time (UTC).
Time Reference
The subscriber establishes a time reference which is used to derive system time. This time
reference will be the earliest arriving multipath component being used for demodulation. This
reflects the assumption that the subscriber’s fix on system time is always skewed by delay
associated with the shortest active link.
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Watts dBm Watts dBm Watts dBm Watts dBm Watts dBm
Watts dBm Watts dBm Watts dBm Watts dBm Watts dBm
IV IV Complementary Error
Function Table
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Q(x)
x 0.00 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04 0.05 0.06 0.07 0.08 0.09
0.0 0.5000 0.4960 0.4920 0.4880 0.4840 0.4801 0.4761 0.4721 0.4681 0.4641
0.1 0.4602 0.4562 0.4522 0.4483 0.4443 0.4404 0.4364 0.4325 0.4286 0.4246
0.2 0.4207 0.4168 0.4129 0.4090 0.4052 0.4013 0.3974 0.3936 0.3897 0.3859
0.3 0.3821 0.3783 0.3745 0.3707 0.3669 0.3632 0.3594 0.3557 0.3520 0.3483
0.4 0.3446 0.3409 0.3372 0.3336 0.3300 0.3264 0.3228 0.3192 0.3156 0.3121
0.5 0.3085 0.3050 0.3015 0.2981 0.2946 0.2912 0.2877 0.2843 0.2810 0.2776
0.6 0.2743 0.2709 0.2676 0.2644 0.2611 0.2579 0.2546 0.2514 0.2483 0.2451
0.7 0.2420 0.2389 0.2358 0.2327 0.2297 0.2266 0.2236 0.2207 0.2177 0.2148
0.8 0.2119 0.2090 0.2061 0.2033 0.2005 0.1977 0.1949 0.1921 0.1894 0.1867
0.9 0.1841 0.1814 0.1788 0.1762 0.1736 0.1710 0.1685 0.1660 0.1635 0.1611
1.0 0.1586 0.1562 0.1539 0.1515 0.1492 0.1468 0.1446 0.1423 0.1401 0.1378
1.1 0.1357 0.1335 0.1313 0.1292 0.1271 0.1251 0.1230 0.1210 0.1190 0.1170
1.2 0.1151 0.1131 0.1112 0.1093 0.1075 0.1056 0.1038 0.1020 0.1003 0.0985
1.3 0.0968 0.0951 0.0934 0.0917 0.0901 0.0885 0.0869 0.0853 0.0838 0.0823
1.4 0.0807 0.0793 0.0778 0.0764 0.0749 0.0735 0.0721 0.0708 0.0694 0.0681
1.5 0.0668 0.0655 0.0643 0.0630 0.0618 0.0606 0.0594 0.0582 0.0570 0.0559
1.6 0.0548 0.0537 0.0526 0.0515 0.0505 0.0495 0.0485 0.0475 0.0465 0.0455
1.7 0.0446 0.0436 0.0427 0.0418 0.0409 0.0401 0.0392 0.0384 0.0375 0.0367
1.8 0.0359 0.0352 0.0344 0.0336 0.0329 0.0322 0.0314 0.0307 0.0301 0.0294
1.9 0.0287 0.0281 0.0274 0.0268 0.0262 0.0256 0.0250 0.0244 0.0239 0.0233
2.0 0.0228 0.0222 0.0217 0.0212 0.0207 0.0202 0.0197 0.0192 0.0188 0.0183
2.1 0.0179 0.0174 0.0170 0.0166 0.0162 0.0158 0.0154 0.0150 0.0146 0.0143
2.2 0.0139 0.0136 0.0132 0.0129 0.0126 0.0122 0.0119 0.0116 0.0113 0.0110
2.3 0.0107 0.0105 0.0102 0.0099 0.0097 0.0094 0.0091 0.0089 0.0087 0.0084
Q(x)
x 0.00 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04 0.05 0.06 0.07 0.08 0.09
2.4 0.0082 0.0080 0.0078 0.0076 0.0074 0.0072 0.0070 0.0068 0.0066 0.0064
2.5 0.0062 0.0060 0.0059 0.0057 0.0056 0.0054 0.0052 0.0051 0.0049 0.0048
2.6 0.0047 0.0045 0.0044 0.0043 0.0042 0.0040 0.0039 0.0038 0.0037 0.0036
2.7 0.0035 0.0034 0.0033 0.0032 0.0031 0.0030 0.0029 0.0028 0.0027 0.0026
2.8 0.0026 0.0025 0.0024 0.0023 0.0023 0.0022 0.0021 0.0021 0.0020 0.0019
2.9 0.0019 0.0018 0.0018 0.0017 0.0016 0.0016 0.0015 0.0015 0.0014 0.0014
3.0 0.0014 0.0013 0.0013 0.0012 0.0012 0.0011 0.0011 0.0011 0.0010 0.0010
3.1 0.0010 0.0009 0.0009 0.0009 0.0008 0.0008 0.0008 0.0008 0.0007 0.0007
3.2 0.0007 0.0007 0.0006 0.0006 0.0006 0.0006 0.0006 0.0005 0.0005 0.0005
3.3 0.0005 0.0005 0.0005 0.0004 0.0004 0.0004 0.0004 0.0004 0.0004 0.0004
3.4 0.0003 0.0003 0.0003 0.0003 0.0003 0.0003 0.0003 0.0003 0.0003 0.0002
3.5 0.0002 0.0002 0.0002 0.0002 0.0002 0.0002 0.0002 0.0002 0.0002 0.0002
3.6 0.0002 0.0002 0.0001 0.0001 0.0001 0.0001 0.0001 0.0001 0.0001 0.0001
3.7 0.0001 0.0001 0.0001 0.0001 0.0001 0.0001 0.0001 0.0001 0.0001 0.0001
3.8 0.0001 0.0001 0.0001 0.0001 0.0001 0.0001 0.0001 0.0001 0.0001 0.0001
3.9 0.0000 0.0000 0.0000 0.0000 0.0000 0.0000 0.0000 0.0000 0.0000 0.0000